Most of us know that America is one of, if not the most influential country in the world today. We are also the richest and most powerful. But as the Roman and Greek empires showed us, such nations usually cannot remain in this position forever. So, assuming this will be our destiny, when will it happen? When will we stop being “on top of the world”? Bob Herbert and Alan W. Dowd provide their own answers on the topic. Bob Herbert, a columnist and journalism professor, wrote about the current condition of America in “A Fire in the Basement,” an introduction to a collection of his editorials, Promises Betrayed: Waking Up from the American Dream (2005). The “fire” he is referring to is the idea that America is falling apart from the inside and we aren't even aware of it. According to him, our current status as a world power is in decline and terrorists are not the ones we should worry about. Rather, it provides examples that demonstrate that this decline will be the result of growing inequality, irrationality, and loss of hope within our nation. He states: “It's not that life in America was better in the 1960s. It wasn't. But it seemed to be moving in a better direction” (396). In other words, we have lost a crucial part of what made us a great nation. If we don't recover this hope and positive spirit soon, we may be destined for a supporting role on the world stage. In “The Decline and Fall of Declinism,” by Alan W. Dowd, from The American, he contradicts what Herbert says by stating that the United States is in great shape. He coins the term “declinism” to describe similar theories about the fall of America that have been heard in recent decades. “But yesterday the declinists were wrong,” he concludes, “And if their remedy...... middle of paper ...... America leads the world economy and influences countries in every corner of the world . However, he does not see the situation as realistically as possible. He does not mention the many unemployed or the corruption that reigns among those in power. In short, both articles have good reasons, even if they only tell part of the story. I think the United States should pay more attention to what's happening inside the country before trying to solve too much outside of it. At the same time, however, we should not have the feeling that judgment day will soon be upon us. Even though America's days as a world power are numbered, our country will continue to move forward. We can take example from former powers such as Britain and Greece, look at how they have survived and we can take comfort in the fact that, for now, our position there does not appear to be changing in the immediate future..