Survey of the 'American Decline' debate

Corruption, the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty.1
--Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( 1776–88) ch. 21

There have been many articles in the last couple of years on the idea of 'the American Decline'.  Although a small number deal with it in the most general terms, most relate the issue as a true decline by way of certain segments of our society, such as education, our economy, art museum attendance and foreign affairs.

In a way, the jury is still out in this country on whether we are in decline.  Just like the issue of global warming, most professional journalists are in the affirmative, but you really need a consensus to make it a reality.

Here are several related articles from widely respected magazines and journals that may help you in your own deliberations on an 'American Decline.'

• Unions, Wages and the ‘Moral Economy’: Researchers say the decline of union rights in the U.S. contributes to the growing wage gap for all private sector workers, including nonunion members.
• Faith Isn't Under Fire: The difference between Christianity and 'Christian America'
• Linking Uncivil Rhetoric With Violent Acts: Political scientists have long wondered if violent political speech can be linked to political violence, a question given urgency in the wake of the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords.
• Walker Percy’s Last Men: Love in the Ruins as a Fable of American Decline 
• The Principle of the Thing: How America's commitment to democratic values is waning in the age of Obama.
• Is Political Talk Getting Smarter?: An analysis of 27 presidential debates finds a decline in the amount of abstract thought present during discussions of economics.
• Older Voters Are Not Always Wiser Voters: Once people hit 70, their ability to evaluate candidates declines. As the population continues to age, could this be a problem?
• The Troubles: Declinists have always projected America's imminent demise. For a change, they're onto something.
• The decline of the ‘middle’: Middle class. Middle of the road. Middle America. Mid-market. Where have they gone?

1"Gibbon, Edward" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Ed. Susan Ratcliffe. Oxford University Press, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. David Weller. 27 April 2011