Sorry, Bennie... don't run off forever. It's just that somehow the 2 far ends don't add up (Daniel saying Jesus is gonna get us until we repent and you saying we haven't been dished all our karma)...when neither one agrees on what it is we should be like.

And I get "set off" on the having wealth and suppressing people thing because hey, it's not like we never paid the arabs for their oil. Some of these places are MUCH wealthier but don't run themselves all that well and we DON'T dictate to them how to govern. I mean, when they are oppressive, a lot of times it's because their opposition is so violent, too. And when they kick one set of butts out (Shah), what do they set up in its place? A democracy or an Ayatollah? The record just doesn't speak that well enough for the natives elsewhere for me to go "America Satan" on us. When we ran off the British, we at least had the sense to copy the good part of their legacy.

Having said that, I agree that we have spawned an auto-dependent culture, have too feeble a response to the ad-driven influences on the youth, and worst of all, think that robots and machines can eliminate the labor force...and that we can sell to someone else without a clue that only employed people can buy anything.