America: A Failing State

I'm not so sure- I don't know enough to disagree with you completely, but it seems valid to me that someone who lacks purpose would be more prone to falling into that sorta destructive cycle. That's not to say its the only way, but its certainly a way.

> Completely ignorant of the context and causes of opioid addiction and overdose.

I think you're focusing on only a small part of the theme of the article, and even that small part is arguable.

The author has some decent points. The USA has spent an astronomical amount of money on wars that are certainly "unwinnable" in the sense that anything could get Iraq and Afghanistan into good shape. Further the ostensible purpose of the wars (Fight Terrorism) almost certainly didn't justify the wars, and the wars predictably didn't decrease terrorism. The "Fight Terrorism" aspect has been used by factions in the government to do things (dragnet surveillance) that won't contribute to anything good in the medium-to-long term.

The US DoD has a purchasing problem. This has been obvious over the last 35-40 years, really. The author cites the F-35, but he could have cited the complex F-22 debacle, the Littoral Combat Ship debacle, inability to replace the A-10, the A-12 debacle of the late 80s, and many, many others. This is not arguable. Further, the DoD's financial structure is so complex that it can't be audited. Realistically, nobody knows what happens to 54% of the US government's discretionary spending.

Inarguably, the author is correct about Trump.

These are worrying symptoms. Picking on the most arguable part of the article does allow us to ignore the article's points, but the problems exist whether we ignore them or not.