On Destroyerclub, on a debate thread about the state of the U.S., one of the posters mentioned he didn't think there is a foreign country that likes us any more.

Oh dear.  Other nations don't like the United States.  Jealousy's a *****.  If there's any topic that gets my indignation up, it's the plaintive cry that we're not 'liked.'

The other countries don't like us? Boo freakin' hoo. The important question is why they don't like us.

Europe doesn't like us? Europe ought to be more concerned about their own situation. European countries have a higher unemployment rate. Their birthrates are lower while their social and health care programs take a larger chunk of their income. The result: an aging population whose younger members won't be able to support the bloated social welfare cradle-to-grave nanny states they've created. It's worse than our own serious Social Security problems. Instead of solving their own problems -- sucking it up and doing without the six weeks paid vacation and paying more out of pocket for health care -- they'd rather harangue the USA to follow their example.

The fastest growing population in France, Holland, and others is Muslim immigrants, who have a higher birth rate than the native populations. This has lead to inner city enclaves of Muslim youths who are rabidly radicalized. They do not recognize the laws of their adopted countries. Non-Muslim women have taken to wearing head scarves when going through some sections of their cities because it's easier than being followed, harassed, and threatened with physical violence.

The Islamic populations around the world don't like us because we promote the basic freedoms of speech, religion, peaceful assembly, etc. which are the antithesis of their sharia law.

And I can see their point. Our freedom of speech and expression leads to an 'anything goes' society where vulgarity, crudeness, and impiety are not only tolerated, but now are trumpeted by our intellectual elites (and Hollywood, where anything approaching intelligence seldom rears its ugly, sane head).

Works of 'art' like P*** Christ are an unfortunate byproduct of the rights that allow me to post this without worrying that I'll be dragged before the authorities and fined or forced to publicly recant my opinions.

(And speaking of art, isn't it funny that among all the feces smeared Madonnas and bondage-themed Last Suppers you don't see any P*** Mohameds? Ask the editor of Danish newspaper The Jutland Post why. Ask Salman Rushdie (if you can get him on the phone). Ask Theo Van Gogh. Oh, no, you can't ask him.)

The Arab countries also hate us because we support Israel. Israel -- aside from being full of dirty, filthy, lazy, pig Jews -- has also committed the unforgivable offense of building a modern market economy and a high tech society despite having few natural resources and some monumentally rude neighbors.

This is very embarrassing to the Arabs, who, if they didn't have oil, would have sand and camels as their main exports. And even with their thriving oil fields, only the ruling families own the wealth. The rest of the population depends on their largesses. And even if their standard of living is high, their medical, technological and scientific advances stalled out sometime in the middle ages. Islam has not been conducive to free thought and experimentation these last thousand years. It's risky promoting new ideas or methods when any Imam among thousands can decide it's blasphemy and declare a fatwa.

Who else doesn't like us. Russia? And all the other countries who used to be part of the USSR? They've had economic and social problems since before the fall of the Tzar. The collapse of communism and the move to a more free market economy helped for awhile, but now with Time's Man of the Year skulking in the Kremlin, they've regressed.

China's still trying to make communism work with a limited free economy. But they want to be the next super power, so of course they don't like us. All those lead painted toys and poisoned tooth paste were real clues.

And Canada. Some Canadians still like us, but they're too busy following Europe's example and oppressing free speech. Ask Mark Steyn. Or Ezra Levant.

Mexico hates us, but they're all too busy trying to sneak in here to complain about anything except how prejudiced we are when we object to them sneaking in here illegally.

I don't think Australia hates us, which is good, because I'd like to have Australia's good will. Any nation descended from convicts and forced emigration is a country I want to have on my side. Seriously. I think Australians kick butt and I hope any carping coming out of there is from their version of the lunatic fringe who spawned Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan up here.

The strong are always hated by the weak. The rich are always hated by the poor. We need to suck it up, not descend to their level or make their mistakes.

If we ruin our economy, who will go to the tsunamis and other natural disasters with aid and money? If we stifle our creativity, where will the little Saudi princes get future versions of Wiis or iPhones? Where will the rest of the world go when they need new medical procedures that aren't available anywhere else? Or routine but crucial operations that have a two-year waiting list in their countries?

An excellent book which traces the blurring of distinctions between childhood and adulthood in contemporary society.

It starts out with an overview of childhood. leading to a discussion of how the concept of the teenager is a relatively recent development.

Booth Tarkington's novel Seventeen was the first that dealt with teenagers specifically, but even then teenage years weren't seen as a separate period but more as a transition period where the aspiration was to become an adult. The main character's goal in the book was to borrow his dad's tuxedo -- a symbol of adulthood -- to impress a girl.

West pinpoints the beginning of the concept of "teen years" as a state distinct and separate from childhood and adulthood to the period just after WWII. Eventually, this emphasis leads to the elevation of the teenager years to a desired status, where before becoming an adult was the goal. By the fifties, being and acting like a teenager is a goal unto itself.

Which then leads to the wish to live in the teen period as long as possible, leading to a blurring of the lines between childhood/teen/adult behavior. That is, children who are encouraged by their peers (and advertising) to behave as teens at younger and younger ages. The slutty dress, acting out of sexual behavior, knowledge beyond their years.

What the book doesn't mention that I think is a factor also, is all the hormones that have been pumped into meat. It is common now for girls as young as 9 to begin developing prematurely. I'm not sure if something similar is happening with boys. The media don't seem inclined to report on it and everybody seems pretty unconcerned. I guess since they're already being pushed to sophistication, that their bodies are being pushed also by chemicals doesn't seem to matter.

To get back to the book, this same elevation of the teen years leads to the wish to remain in it for as long as possible. We're seeing "adults" in their twenties and even thirties who wish to avoid responsibility, to play and have fun over settling down, working on a career and, most important, parenting.

Since many people start their childbearing years in their late teens and twenties, we're getting parents who don't want to parent. That, coupled with the children who are expected to be preternaturally sophisticated, means we're getting people of all ages who engage in adult pastimes without the judgement or common sense to handle it.

The book goes on to trace how our lack of responsibility leads to a breakdown of boundaries, continual lowering of standards of decency and behavior. No sense of shame or knowledge of what is inappropriate. "Who are we to say X is bad" or immoral or wrong. With relativism, no type of behavior is better or worse than any other type of behavior.

This has lead naturally to cultural leveling (IE, no culture is better than any other culture) has lead to a loss of cultural identity. It's our biggest handicap when dealing with the Islamic threat. Since they know what they believe and we don't, we're at a disadvantage when it comes to fighting them.

To quote from the book:

There is a hollowness to the whole enterprise that is embodied by the captain's relativism, a barren chamber where the empty slogan "war on terror" echoes on without meaning. That is, terror is a tactic. You don't make war on a tactic, you make war on the people that use it. Imagine if FDR had declared "the war on sneak attack" or the "war on blitzkrieg." It doesn't make sense and neither does "war on terror." And not only does it not make sense, it also uncovers our biggest handicap going in: that perilous lack of cultural confidence, that empty core at our heart. Where an empty core has nothing with which to refute the absurdity of Bush=Hitler, an empty core has nothing with which to define "a war on terror." Who are we to say . . . who we are fighting . . . and why? p.143

Unfortunately, the book doesn't give much in the way of solutions. There are still plenty of people, I think, who become adults, even if it is later in life. But are there enough of them? And if adulthood is postponed until after 30, will they be too late to make a significant difference? Will there be enough people willing to to turn things around?

The second book in The New Destroyer series was published Tuesday, October 30th.

I was privileged to obtain an Advance Review Copy. Warren Murphy and James Mullaney's second New Destroyer published by Tor delivers on the promise of The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel and is a worthy continuation of the series.

This time around, they're taking on the tobacco industry. Edgar Rawly is an eccentric villain in true Destroyer tradition: 90+ owner and CEO of Cheyenne Tobacco, lifelong smoker and fervent defender of cigarettes even as he's hacking up a lung. There's a great running gag throughout the book. Rawly keeps mentioning people (smokers all), only to have his aide tell him that they have passed away from lung cancer or emphysema. Rawly angrily snaps after each new disclosure how this must have been caused by drinking or overeating -- anything but smoking.

The secondary characters -- from Mrs. Z, Rawly's equally ancient secretary to Aphrodite Janise, president of Campaign for a Smoke Free World and reluctant ally of Remo and Chiun -- are sharply drawn and fully realized characters. Choke hold also has a few of the celebrity lampoons readers have come to expect and a chapter two that takes on an issue which angers the authors (and readers too!).

The relationship between Remo and Chiun has all the father-son bickering and love that we've come to expect. Smitty is his lemony self. Mark Howard, his assistant, doesn't have as much to do in this book as usual. Although he's the latest addition to CURE, I would have welcomed more of him.

If you're a Destroyer fan and you're on this page, you're probably buying it already. If you're new to the series, each book is a self-contained adventure, so there's no problem picking this one up first. Though I'd recommend buying Guardian Angel also. And scrounging Amazon Sellers, eBay, and used bookstores for the first 107 books plus Jim Mullaney's 111 through 131.