Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder - Arnold Toynbee, (1889 - 1975) We are about to awake from the American Dream. This book is about the loss of a good thing, our country. It addresses the poor care we give to maintaining it, how we fail to appreciate the economic, social and even military "monsters" that collectively embody a crushing burden we are less and less able to bear. It does not blame Republicans or Democrats or even politicians per se--politicians are prostitutes who will assume any position we require of them. It also does not blame the courts for being too lax (or too harsh), or the oil companies for their vigorous pursuit of profits and their resistance to energy alternatives. There is only one entity deserving of blame, and it lies closer to home. As said best by Walt Kelly through his cartoon character, Pogo: "We have met the enemy and them is us."