The United States Is Very Sick

There's no denying it now. This case is terminal.

Oh damn, I have written this before!

I was in Spain this past August for a total solar eclipse (Solar Saros 126). I was in Madrid, León, Bilbao, and Bergos. Spain is far from perfect. It has mild unemployment, a shrinking population, and it is suffering under global heating. Their agriculture, wine industry, and the health of all life in Spain is threatened by global heating, extended droughts, and wildfires that can rage at any time most months of the year.

But I was irritated by something else I witnessed. Spain was all very calm and normal normal. Yes, there's waste and corruption. There's some political regression and stagnation. The young people in Spain need much better protection, investment, and leadership. But I still saw a much more stable, happy, and normal G20 nation (Spain was the 14th wealthiest nation by GDP in 2025, but has frequently fallen out of the top 20). I think the key takeaway for me was stability. I was in a nation that didn't have the dark cloud of fascism over it (a little ironic, since there are still some fascists in Spain). There was no despot leader looking down angrily at the people, throwing them confusing narratives, nonsensical directives (like "don't take Tylenol"), temper tantrums. and rage-filled rants. And most important, it didn't look nor feel like a nation in decline. Spain is alive. The US is hospitalized. It's sick.

The US is sick because it boosts evil nations. It's sick because it allows dozens of children to be mowed down in shootings multiple times. It's sick because it shows no desire to be well and rehabilitate. It's sick because it is only becoming more sick.