The Day America Died

The Day America Died

by Doug Soderstrom, Ph.D.

Regardless of what so many have come to believe, death is more than the simple fact of someone having died, the realization that a living breathing entity has ceased to function, that a lifeless form has become that of "just another cadaver," the stark realization that a human being's time on earth has finally come to an end. Even though one's body has been "laid to rest," something of much greater significance has occurred.

Much more to the point is the death of one's soul, the departure of the spirit from an individual's body; an acknowledgement that an imponderable, a vital living force having once empowered an individual through each and every step of life has vanished from the scene.. a shared understanding that something very special has been swept away. Indeed, the knowledge that something absolutely essential to the life of every related human being has been lost to the world. For this the world is less than it once was.

But what about the corporal and spiritual qualities of a more communal, national entity such as that of our own nation, the United States of America?

Corporally, the United States, as a religious body, seems to be doing quite well, no doubt willing to pit the validity of its own static dogma against that of any other nation. As a mere four percent of the world's population, it has established one of the highest standards of living in the world, at present consuming nearly 35% of the world's wealth. It has attained the rather fine distinction of becoming the foremost military power the world has ever known, so powerful that it has the capacity to destroy all life on earth several times over.

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