Last year, Vishal Mangalwadi, an Indian scholar and outstanding speaker and writer, made some compelling remarks regarding the future of America. Here is an excerpt from an interview dated last summer: (the full interview can be found on examiner.com)

"How can you be so sure that America will turn into a third world country?"

Let me tell you this, how I can be so sure. Right now the FBI is investigating 52,000 wealthy Americans who are hiding 15 billion dollars in secret, safe accounts. America is a very rich country with lots of millionaires, and altogether they have 15 billion dollars in tax-evaded secret, safe accounts.

India is a poor country. How much money do you think Indians have in secret safe accounts? It’s 1500 billion, 1.5 trillion dollars that Indians have in secret accounts. We’re number one. Russia is number two; Russians have 350 billion.

Now, what does that tell you about America? It tells you that Americans pay taxes. Very few people cheat. They hire tax consultants; they save as much tax as they can legally. Very few of them take illegal means to save taxes.

Why do Americans pay taxes? Is there any reason for you to pay your tax if the government is going to take that money and give it to corrupt corporations that have made a mess of your economy by billions of dollars…trillions of dollars? 

While you are making money, they are messing up money. Why should you pay taxes to bail them out? The reason we pay taxes, is because the Bible said that you shouldn’t steal --that you should pay your taxes.  

- Vishal Mangalwadi 

 The link between truth and the transformation of a nation is something to continually explore. Vishal, to me, makes perfect sense in this regard and I highly recommend his book, Truth and Transformation: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations (2009, YWAM publishing). We cannot kid ourselves in thinking that America remains headed in a stable direction or that our foundation truly is something permanent. For all of the rhetoric from politicians about 'America's values', I must agree with Jim Collins in his book Good to Great, when he states that values surface, they're not stated. And what's surfacing in the West generally and in the U.S. in particular should caution us, warn us, and fuel us to deep humility. It is true that we are a great nation and have the longest running constitution in world history; it's also true that we live in a brave new world where globalization or some form of it is here to stay. Industrially and technologically, the U.S. is truly a developed nation; ethicaly and spiritually, we're a work in progress.

-bo