Is America Still Relevant?

Lost Nation...
After my mother's father died, I remember we took a drive through rural Iowa to a small town called Lost Nation. This little village was about the size of a postage stamp. With a population of about 450, if you blinked twice, you missed it.

As we drove past the cemetery, my grandmother recalled a little known fact, "You know, when you die you can be buried there for free. " It seems one of our distant relatives was a successful resident of Lost Nation and he donated the land on which the cemetery rests. Part of the deal that this guy made was any of his descendants could be buried there for free. Huh. Okay, note to self.

Lost nation...
Last night I was flipping through the channels and I overheard a debate on one of the news stations. The question was, "Is America Still Relevant?" That stunned me a little. I consider myself to be fairly educated on most things related to our nation. I went to college - heck, they even gave me a degree in Political Science! - but I honestly didn't realize we traveled this far off the beaten path. Is America still relevant? What the heck!? When did we move past, "Is America as relevant? And why in the world hasn't there been a memo about that or something? You know, like you go file your taxes and along with the receipt from the IRS saying it's been received they say, "Oh, by the way, we're really not all that powerful anymore. FYI."

I know we've been struggling in the last several years. The housing and financial crisis has lingered, but has it been bad enough to really put into question America's position in the global economy and foreign relations? Apparently so...

Now, a girl who can be buried for free in Lost Nation, Iowa hopes she doesn't have to live the rest of her days in a nation that is lost...