The USA did not cede. They got beaten. Own it

It wasn't much of a fight. We're not oriented towards this type of research and this type of tech. When it comes to software and chip design, we're ok. When it comes to the physical world, we're far behind and we're not keenly interested in catching up.

Oh but you are interested, especially now. You are trying so very hard. That is why you are still throwing cash into the dumpster fire that is Tesla. You got blindsided. You exploited the cheap Chinese labour, thinking they can never be as smart as you. Your designs will forever be Greek to them. And that was your fatal flaw, and will continue to be as long as you refuse to admit your shortcomings.

America is the undisputed King of software. That is subject to change, especially with your tech leaders pushing hard to create a technocracy. You have successfully spooked your greatest ally, Europe into building for themselves and they already have a lot in place. Good for them.

The US is even losing software ground with your own people who trust your less and less (scandal after scandal will do that)

What you are left with is selling your software to the Third World, but that is not very lucrative, obviously.

As far as chips are concerned ,I pessimistically give it 5 years for China to equal you in that space. They will not be buying from you anymore, and they have football fields of the smartest people now, in all major field. And they are united in the fact that you don't want to share your toys, so they will use their number one manufacturing and research capacity to upend you.

I don't know what you see, but what I see is that we are not interested in competing with China. I don't listen to CEOs or politicians. I just look at where real developers and engineers spend their time and where investment is going.

It's not a fight we're up for and not one we can win anyway. It's not because of arrogance, stupidity or laziness. Every empire collapses eventually. China will too one day.

Really smart sounding, until:

> As far as chips are concerned ,I pessimistically give it 5 years for China to equal you in that space.

The US doesn't make chips.

It sounds like this is more motivated by a need for vengeance than a desire to delineate the truth.

The top players in the space (AMD, Nvidia, Intel, Qualcomm, ...) all design their chips in the US and Europe, using software also written in the west. "Only" the manufacturing is outsourced.

Don't talk about such things. You just might get downvoted ( gasp :-o )

You guys still interpreting the law while your country is being rendered lawless Oh, the luxury!

You are secretly calm because you think it won't affect you.. until it does.

You are an NPC, just like me. They created this world, plugged it in and now here we are in this "hard drive" with its set storage.

If only we can get to the other side and meet them. But that would mean going through one of these black holes and coming out whole on the other side.

Wouldn't it be cool if an NPC actually escaped the game? :-)

I wonder how many other "games" are out there?

In any case, I am thankful for the game I'm in. Just don't want to take a chance and go to another game and die there. Apparently you don't respawn should that happen. Ralph got lucky.

You can't serious believe that this is an America only phenomenon. People have been "fighting for what they believe in" in all countries. A lot of them with higher stakes. This is not "exceptional".

This article is looking in all the wrong places,whereas the truth is much simpler and was always screaming from the outside, but America was deafened by it's "specialness".

Both parties veered right - one just more obvious then the other. That is what the people wanted. That is what the people chose. And that is what the people will pay for.

It doesn't help that Americans are trying left, right and center to find excuses for their rapid decline. Talking about how it was 30% who brought this on everyone else.

If that ws the case then Kamala would be president.

Own it.

I didn’t say only in America, I said stronger in America. Freedom is a global value but probably stronger in America too(to a fault, I think some of these values are taken to excess in American society to the point of pathology)

“It doesn’t help that Americans are trying left, right and center to find excuses for their rapid decline. Talking about how it was 30% who brought this on everyone else”

To me this is the core thrust of the article.

Agreed. You did not say "Only in America". Everybody wants to be free. Some just believe they are more free then others, until proven otherwise.

This is not a fault of the average American,but more an indictment of an insular education system which does not address much of the world.

And that is why college educated Americans have strikingly different world views from the ones who just finished high school. The highschoolers have been "taught", and there was nothing in their personal experience or further education to change their minds, until they are exposed to places that are less insulated of course, because TV and social media can only do so much.

Social media exposed all of America's key disadvantages.

What a fasinating read. Thoroughly enjoyable writing. Thank you.