The post before this one is Number Five in a series that I call A Changing America.  I try to write posts in this series without making them sound like complaints or laments.  I don't know how well I succeed because I am unhappy about the changes I describe.
I wonder if it sounds like an old man griping about a lost past and nothing more.  Can it be that people don't regret their loss?  I understand that they can't miss the examples I cite because they never experienced them.
But can it be they wouldn't prefer airline travel (to use my latest complaint) prior to deregulation?
Or not need police in their schools?
Or enjoy free air, water and service at the gas station?
Or get home visits from their doctor?
But these are primarily social or cultural issues. 
What of the huge change in our government?  Not just its size, but the range of its activities.
Why is there so much foreign involvement?  Why is there a seemingly unending string of wars:  Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Grenada, Somalia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq?  Are all of these countries serious threats to the U.S.?
Currently I am reading a book called Master of War by Suzanne Simons and published by HarperCollins last Tuesday June 23rd.  It is a disturbing work on the growth of private military contractors, outsourcing of military duties, and the confusion that prevails on the battlefield because there is very little planning for the interaction of private and official military operations.  I will be posting a full review of this book on the weekend.  I hope you take time to read it.