"The Fate of the Mightiest Nation"

and sometimes, ya just gotta repost this Art Hoppe classic from the SF Chronicle...

The Mightiest Nation

Arthur Hoppe




Once upon a time there was a country that was very small and, on the whole, very good.

Its citizens were proud and independent and self-reliant and generally prosperous. They believed in freedom and justice and equality. But, above all, they had faith. They had faith in their religion, their leaders, their country and themselves.

And, of course, they were ambitious. Being proud of their country, they wanted to make it bigger. First they conquered the savage tribes that hemmed them in. Then they fought innumerable wars on land and sea with foreign powers to the east and west and south. They won almost all the battles they fought and conquered foreign lands. It took many generations, but at last the good, little country was the richest, mightiest nation in the whole, wide world -- admired, respected, envied and feared by one and all.

``We must remain the mightiest nation,'' said its leaders, ``so that we can insure universal peace and make everyone as prosperous and decent and civilized as we are.'' At first, the mightiest nation was as good as its word. It constructed highways and buildings and pipelines and hygienic facilities all over the world. And for awhile, it even kept the peace.

But being the mightiest nation in the world, its leader was the mightiest man in the world. And, naturally, he acted like it.

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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/07/22/ED78905.DTL