At Pajamas Media, Steve Balch has a two-part series, "Is Our Civilization a Bubble?" In Part I he describes characteristics of well-known bubbles such as the tech bubble and the housing bubble, and he suggests that American society itself could be headed for a bubble. He notes that Americans feel so comfortable in the systems and freedoms we've inherited that we often assume these conditions are universal, not special, and we forget that these freedoms had to be won through war and sacrifice.
In Part II Steve points out another forgetfulness - we forget the founders' view of government as a necessary evil and reimagine it as an arm of compassion.
He calls on readers above all to remember the principles on which this country was founded, and the price at which its freedoms were secured. If we take them for granted too long, he warns, we are in danger of forfeiting them.
One remedy, he recommends, is to fortify our education system to prevent such forgetfulness and to honor the spirit of America's beginnings.
Read also: Instapundit's link to "Is Our Civilization a Bubble?"
