Remarks by Russia's Vladimir Putin and the
actions of China's President Xi Jinping
indicate that they think America is on
the decline.

Shortly after the Geneva Summit meeting
last June, Putin spoke at an event in
his country and portrayed the U.S. as
a "waning power" and said the world is
"changing dramatically." He touted the
merits of Russia's growing military strength and
aggressive stance on foreign policy. Russia is
also cyberhacking the U.S. at will.

China's President Xi Jinping defiantly dismisses U.S.
dominance and emphasizes China's rising power.
Hong Kong fell victim to China's growing ambition, and
now they are advancing on Taiwan. Taiwan Semiconductor controls
over 20% of the world's microchips. President Xi wants one China sooner than later.

Where is the U.S. in all this? I started asking people if they think America is on the decline. The expressions on their faces indicate the answer before they speak.

Drugs – I spoke with a restaurant owner in Colorado who said he'd have no employees if he started drug testing. At Uline, so many of our employees in the warehouse operate equipment that goes over 30 feet high. There is no way they could be under the influence of drugs.

Police – Protesters across the country want to defund the police as homicides and violent crimes soar. In Chicago, the city saw 336 homicides through June of this year, 33% more than at the same time in 2020.

Education – Kids seem to take some of the weirdest named courses today, far removed from hardcore writing and critical thinking, in my opinion. It's no wonder our children do so poorly in these basic skills.

Government Spending – Americans are a creative, feisty bunch, who I believe basically like to work. Excessive government benefits are discouraging our work ethic. As I write this, Uline has over 500 jobs available across North America.

Historians have detailed the rise and fall of past societies. In 1787, Scottish philosopher Alexander Tyler believed there are eight stages:

• From bondage to spiritual growth.
• Spiritual growth to great courage.
• Great courage to liberty.
• Then from liberty to abundance.
• From abundance to complacency.
• Then complacency to apathy.
• Apathy to dependence.
• And finally, dependence back
  to bondage.

What stage are we in?
Are we destined to repeat history?

The country has been through
worse and emerged stronger.
We need to reverse course on
some of this stuff quickly.