Schools of Thought Regarding the Future of America
             Three schools of thought appear to dominate considerations regarding
             the possible future of the United States of America. These include
             declinism, American exceptionalism, and neoimperialism. Only time can tell
             which is the most likely outcome. Realistically, and if history is taken
             into account, it appears that declinism enjoys favor over the other two
             possibilities when applied to the American situation.
             According to declinism, all great nations enjoy a period of
             greatness, after which they decline. This decline can be blamed on many
             factors, and often the causes include more than one aspect of the political
             and social fabric of the once great nation. Declinists hold that the same
             is true of the United States. The terrorist attacks and subsequent
             international climate in relation to the United States appear to
             substantiate the declinist view. The United States have become very
             powerful and this may have led to a paradigm of unmerited confidence in
             security and other systems that in fact were not up to standard. The ease
             with which the September 11 attacks occurred seems to substantiate the lack
             of security systems. Historically also declinism seems to be the norm for
             once great nations such as Rome and England.
             American exceptionalism is the contrasting view to declinism.
             According to this belief, the United States is unique in its strengths, and
             shares none of the weaknesses of its once great European counterparts.
             Thus, the United States is not only great in itself, but also offers
             opportunities for humanity as a whole. According to this view then, the
             history of England and Rome is not applicable to the United States, because
             of the latter's unique qualities. One of these unique qualities setting
             the country apart from its historical counterparts is its religious
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