> I'm curious about such questions because on a larger scheme of the things, I really hope that Boeing is not a miniature reflection of the US - an empire in its twilight that got entangled in irreconcilable interests, doomed to watch its own inevitable decline.
I’m tired of this hyperbolic, melodramatic angst about the general decline of the U.S. Did you not read the part about the crew being returned by SpaceX? A company that just made landing rockets a reality only 9 years ago, not even 10 years has passed and reusable rockets are as boring as smartphones. NASA identified an issue on the Boeing Starliner, and a cutting edge company (SpaceX) stepped up for a non-emergency rescue mission. There was no loss of life, or equipment, there’s been no injuries, just mild inconveniences. This isn’t a nation in decline, this is a nation that has even begun to peak yet.
I'd be extremely happy to be wrong, as I invest my life and my family's in the US. As for the concern, it's not about this one particular incident, but about the pattern that other countries have experienced: the government and the society has so many entangled interest that no one knows how to move things forward. As a result, the country perishes. I'm not saying that the US is in that trajectory, but I did see some aspects of institutional decay, like the cost of canon shells is 6X of Russian's, despite that Russia is a much more corrupt country, or like the country is so divided and many people simply accept that election is about telling stories and personal attacks instead of logical discussion of policies. Like it would take billions to build the next-gen battleships or planes, and we couldn't have good enough supply chain in the US. Like our medical system is so much more expensive than other developed countries, and the list can go on.
> I'd be extremely happy to be wrong, as I invest my life and my family's in the US.
Spend less time reading the news and more time enjoying your family. The world has been “ending” for decades now, the U.S. isn’t going anywhere and will continue to get some things right while getting other things wrong.
“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”
I’m tired of this hyperbolic, melodramatic angst about the general decline of the U.S. Did you not read the part about the crew being returned by SpaceX? A company that just made landing rockets a reality only 9 years ago, not even 10 years has passed and reusable rockets are as boring as smartphones. NASA identified an issue on the Boeing Starliner, and a cutting edge company (SpaceX) stepped up for a non-emergency rescue mission. There was no loss of life, or equipment, there’s been no injuries, just mild inconveniences. This isn’t a nation in decline, this is a nation that has even begun to peak yet.