Powerlessness in the most powerful nation on planet Earth is the state of affairs in America today. America is approaching a grinding halt and everything is slowing down. "All stop," has been the command of the ship's captain. We're sitting at a four-way stop, and even if we haven't come to a full stop the car is slowing down, and the brakes are being applied. "These are uncertain times," said President George W. Bush in a press conference in early 2008. My response is these are not uncertain times-we can be very certain that to continue on the same course is not the right answer. America has to move forward instead of taking a left or a right at this crossroads in its history. There are no easy answers, but there are answers, or at the very least, clear indicators of the right direction for America in the twenty-first century. That direction is straight ahead. America must move forward, but it currently lacks the power to do so. Through both quantitative and qualitative means, I provide readers of this book with simple and straightforward answers to the complexities that have become a twenty-first century America as we explore the Inert America condition.
