Obituary for America: This veteran thinks politicians will destroy USA by 2016

On July 4, 2026, after a lengthy illness caused by serious wounds inflicted by her professional politicians, the United States of America passed away. As she lay dying, her citizens were largely apathetic and uncaring. With little public support or assistance her spirit rapidly dwindled and she could no longer endure the pain and suffering. Despite feeble efforts to resuscitate her, she lost her will to survive and passed away at the ripe old age of 250.

After her death the so-called friendly nations outwardly expressed their regret and condolences, however internally they celebrated the demise of the greatest nation the world had ever seen and which for so long had been the leader of the free world. They quickly and conveniently forgot the debts they owed to America for aid, assistance and for the blood she shed on their behalf. The enemy nations rejoiced and celebrated in the streets, as they were no longer restrained by the power of America and were free to conquer and enslave their neighbors.

The United States of America was born on July 4, 1776, in the 13 English colonies in North America. It was a long and difficult birth manifested by armed conflict and bloodshed. It looked for a time that the birth would not be successful; however because of the indomitable spirit, determination, and perseverance of her citizens, America became a reality. For the first time in the history of mankind a nation was founded where men were free to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In this new nation men were free and no longer enslaved by a king or dictator.

To provide a guarantee of freedom for America and its citizens a living constitution was adopted, and it served as the blueprint for the growth, development, and stability of America. This constitution provided protection for man’s basic rights in the form of a Bill of Rights. The provisions of the Constitution restrained the government from interfering in the daily life and activities of its citizens. The Constitution, despite its grounding in Christian beliefs and values, had some basic flaws. The original Constitution only permitted property owners to vote, and denied voting rights to women and blacks. It perpetuated slavery and did not provide for the people to vote directly for their senators, and no term limits for the president were established. Over time these flaws were corrected by amendments to the Constitution.

It was the omissions to the Constitution that proved to be very instrumental to America’s undoing. The most serious omissions were: not establishing term limits for members of Congress, not requiring a balanced annual budget, not defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and a prohibition on Congress adopting any rule or practice that made one member’s vote count more than another.

As a young nation America opened her arms and welcomed oppressed immigrants from all over the world. She provided a beacon of liberty, which attracted men who yearned to be free of tyranny, and wished to be masters of their own fate and destiny. She became an ethnic melting pot, which melded her people together, and they proudly proclaimed that they were Americans.

America adopted a manifest destiny, which proclaimed her right to spread across the continent from ocean to ocean. It was a rocky childhood for America, as she had to fight wars with England, Mexico and Spain over lands and territories. The most serious growing pain was the Civil War. It pitted brother against brother and tore America in two over the issue of slavery. With the able leadership of President Lincoln and the vast resources of the north, the anti-slavery forces prevailed and the union was preserved.

Early in the 20th century America became the industrial giant of the world. As she grew in wealth and power she was courted by the European nations who wanted her as an ally. Try as she might to remain neutral, America was ultimately drawn into two world wars which bled her of her young men and other resources. America emerged from World War II as the world’s preeminent nuclear superpower, and along with that came the unwelcome responsibility of becoming the world’s policeman.

In an effort to stem the advance of communism, America became involved in two limited wars that could not be won.

America’s prosecution of the war in Vietnam caused massive opposition at home and abroad. The majority of American youth in America not only defied authority, but openly rioted, destroyed property, cursed America and its politicians and taunted and spit on military members in uniform. The Vietnam War and its aftermath started America’s downward spiral from which she could never recover.

President Nixon in an effort to appease the youth eliminated the draft; as a result it could not be reinstated, as it would be political suicide to try to do so. The last vestige of patriotic spirit was extinguished in the majority of our youth and the obligation to serve and protect the country was forever lost. America was forced to rely on the recruitment of youth from the lower social-economic class lured by large cash bonuses and the promise of a free education to defend her.

President Carter added to this problem by granting a pardon to those shirkers and deserters who refused to fight for their country. President Carter will always be remembered for not supporting the Shah of Iran and thus permitting Iran to be ruled by Islamic extremists who turned it into a terrorist state that exported terror throughout the world. The Iranians repaid President Carter by seizing the American Embassy in Iran and holding the staff hostage for 444 days. As a parting gesture President Carter gave control of the Panama Canal to Panama, and as a result its use could not be assured in time of war or national emergency.

President George Herbert Walker Bush in response to Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait committed U.S. forces to liberate Kuwait and end the threat to Saudi oil fields. The failure to demand the ouster of Saddam Hussein as a condition for the cessation of hostilities insured that the Iraqi invasion would have to be repeated.

As a result of the dastardly attack on America by a small band of Islamic extremists who commandeered four American airliners and crashed them into the Twin Trade Towers, the Pentagon, and into the ground en route to either the Capitol Building or White House, President George Bush committed America to combat in Afghanistan to destroy terrorist training camps and remove the Taliban from power. He also with Congress’s approval invaded Iraq as a result of Saddam Hussein’s continued violations of conditions imposed on Iraq as a result of the invasion of Kuwait, and the belief that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The war in Afghanistan morphed into the longest in U.S. history. Because of poor intelligence and planning, the war in Iraq turned into an ugly religious war between the major Islamic sects, with the U.S. caught in the middle.

These wars were long and costly both in resources and American casualties. To compound the problem, America had to fight a worldwide war on terror, perpetuated by Iran and carried out by Islamic terrorists. This was also a costly endeavor that also had a huge impact on every American’s personal freedom because of the need for stringent security requirements.

The primary causes of death of the United States of America are as follows:

u The apathy of her citizens, who lost their patriotic spirit and willingness to fight to protect the American way of life, or even to vote.

u The lack of motivation and work ethic by its youth, created by indulgent parents and an education system that failed to provide meaningful standards of performance and conduct.

u The large number of children born out of wedlock because the young found out taxpayers would pay for the birth itself and continued support. The percentage of children born out of wedlock soared with 78 percent of blacks, 43 percent of Hispanics, 26 percent of whites, and 12 percent of Asians being born and raised by one parent.

u A massive influx of unskilled illegal immigrants created by politicians who would not enforce the laws or secure the borders. This added an onerous load to the health, education, food stamp, and welfare budgets already bloated from having to care for millions of American too lazy to work, or who were scamming the system or those being granted fraudulent disability benefits or supporting the huge number of children born out of wedlock. America could not afford to support “users” (including “deadbeats”) and still pay for a strong military defense. As a result we lost out ability to defend our country and its citizens.

u Members of Congress added greatly to the problem by pork barrel spending, granting special breaks and favors to campaign donors, and worst of all by voting for what is best for them and not what was best for the nation. The entire congressional objective could be summed up in one word, “reelection.” The election process for president stretched out to almost two years. This long and constant barrage of harsh political rhetoric had a divisive effect on Americans, who divided into the red and blue camps. The net effect is that America lost her ability to compromise and ended up in perpetual political gridlock.

u Political gridlock gave the president the excuse to assume powers not granted by the Constitution. President Barack Obama began this process and sought to change America through executive orders, onerous regulations issued by government agencies, and by removing military and civil personnel who opposed him. As a result of President Obama, and his immediate successors’ actions, America drifted closer to a dictatorship and further away from democracy.

u As a result of the massive federal debt, and a sky-rocketing welfare budget caused by an ever-increasing number of recipients, and a shrinking number of taxpayers, the economic system could no longer stand the strain and collapsed. The American dollar became worthless and was replaced by the Chinese yuan as the international currency.

America could have been saved but the practice of political correctness ground the system almost to a halt, while greedy politicians did nothing. The citizens stood mutely by, refusing to even exercise their obligation to vote and watched American disintegrate before their very eyes. The wealthy politicians and others who profited from the demise of America departed like rats leaving a sinking ship and headed for greener pastures.

America’s death created a chaotic state where the strong took from the weak that had no protection. Men fought over food and other assets needed for survival. What had been the world’s model democracy was reduced to unruly mobs hell-bent on taking the few remaining assets of a dead nation.

May God grant his mercy unto America, which was destroyed by its greedy leaders while its apathetic citizens stood idly by and watched.

Amen.

Jack Heller, of Lakeside, is a retired U.S. Army colonel.