1. From bondage to spiritual faith
2. From spiritual faith to great courage
3. From great courage to liberty
4. From liberty to abundance
5. From abundance to selfishness
6. From selfishness to complacency
7. From complacency to apathy
8. From apathy to moral decay
9. From moral decay to dependence
10. From dependence to bondage

The five stages of an American Collapse is an interesting if fanciful compellation. The Roman Empire from which artist draws his inspiration did not “collapse” but rather changed. Eventually, over centuries, it changed into something the citizens of the Roman republic would likely not have recognized.

It is the same with the United States. The US will continue to “reinvent itself” as it always has, but all this talk of collapse from a Russian professor is nothing short of fanciful and probably wishful thinking on his part. The talk of secession on the part of the states is also fanciful, and represents at best a misunderstanding of the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution, or at worst the talk of fringe groups with no real influence over either political institutions or the vast majority of the American public. The tension and strains we are currently seeing between State and National government is interesting but in no way truly tests the US national fabric.

This is not to say that the possibility of US influence in the world can not wane in the coming 100 years. It probably will if we do not begin to control our debt and recognize the limits to American power and influence both domestically and internationally. This decline, I would think, would come as a welcome relief to most Western Europeans who have been hoping and wishing for a multi-polar world since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Personally, I think the US should seriously re-evaluate our role in the world and take the advice of our first President and avoid “entangling alliances” like those that have developed over the last 100 years.

Nevertheless US citizens, like myself are acutely aware of the limits of the ability of the government to respond to certain events. Hurricane Katrina & the BP oil spill are but two examples. Therefore we must look after ourselves until the dynamos of American innovation, the free market, and yes, the government at the local, state, and national levels can begin to respond to the situation. This may take days or weeks or months. But this reliance on ourselves is a return to ourselves – it’s the pioneer spirit that built the US. A spirit that has over the last half century been diminished by, forgive me, European style nanny state, cradle to grave social benefits.

People everywhere, and especially Americans, who are looking for a helping hand should first look to the end of their own wrists. Then they should look to their families, then their neighbors, then their community, then their state, and finally and lastly their national governments. Helping one’s self then helping others – that’s what being prepared is really all about isn’t it?