Begun in November 2007, today the FM website hit five million page views (95 thousand in May). People have read 2,750 posts (average 1,000 words each), on which they made over 33 thousand comments. Today is the time for you, the readers, to speak. In the comments please explain what we have done right — and wrong. Has it been worth the massive investment of time and energy? What should we do differently in the future?
Thoughts about this project
What’s the bottom line for such a project, the proof of skill? In terms of the analysis, perhaps its the ability to forecast. My co-authors and I have made many predictions. Of those predictions that have been resolved, most have proven correct. Inevitably some were wrong, some embarrassingly so (most often from excessive optimism).
As for our politics, we’ve been pegged by the Left as being extremely conservative. And by the Right as being radicals. That’s natural, as today there is no reality-based community in America for us to join. Sites like ours attempt to build one, but so far it’s sowing seeds on rocky soil.
The goal of the FM website remains what it was when first opened, what it says on the masthead: to help re-ignite the spirit of a nation grown cold. Over the years I have tried many approaches to strike sparks in the minds of readers. So far with uniformly negative results. Any suggestions for new approaches will be appreciated!
Content
Born in opposition to our mad 9-11 wars, since then we’ve covered a wide range of subjects.The #1 series of posts — by far — was about the TV show Castle, with 74 thousand hits. The posts about “Ender’s Game” (books and film) got 30 thousand hits. We should be writing about popular culture, and doing reviews of hot films and books. Vox populi, vox Dei. Coming soon, an analysis on the cultural significance of “Barbarella” (1968), a mirror of our soul.
The most requested subject, by far: how to reform America. I wrote 51 posts, discussing this from several perspectives. Low traffic posts, which nicely illustrates the problem: we just don’t care.
You can find the posts for any subject discussed here by looking at the reference pages on the right-side menu. Or access them by the category dropdown box (top right), or the tag cloud (bottom right). Here’s a listing of topics covered, with the number of posts in each.
.
- The third industrial revolution: 33
- Military theory (4GW, COIN, etc): 108
- America, our political regime and society: 665
- Art, myth, and literature: 29
- Book reviews: 44
- Cyberwar & cybercrime: 18
- Demography: 11
- Economics: 120
- End of the post-WW2 era: 292
- Europe, will it unify or fragment: 43
- Good news about America: 27
- Grand strategy: 58
- History, economic & geopolitical: 226
- Income & wealth inequality: 35
- Information & Disinformation: 229
- Internet’s impacts: 46
- Iran, our rival in the Middle East: 90
- Our wars in Iraq & Afghanistan: 297
- Our military: 231
- Peak oil & Energy: 64
- Science: 236 (185 are about climate)
- Women & Gender Issues : 21
- Other issues: 310
Why a picture of Hannibal?
Rome was great, but foolish leaders led it to the brink of defeat by Hannibal. Fabius Maximus saved Rome by adopting a cautious strategy, building its strength and cohesion for the eventual confrontation with its foes. We can learn much from him.
No nation, no matter how great, can withstand too high levels of folly by its leaders and people. The people of 3rd century Rome almost lost everything. It can happen to us, also. Perhaps we’d care more about our political regime if we realized that we can lose it.
.
.
