From Sunday’s Meet the Press, a disturbing notion from an experienced voice that authoritarianism could be gaining credibility while our American model is losing it:

NBC War Correspondent Richard Engel: [America’s ability to have influence in the rest of the world is] greatly diminished. I think the Chinese model is one that appeals more and more in the developing world. People see that an authoritarian state can hold onto power, can hold on to stability and can drive the economy forward. When you look at– when you talk to people in– in– in Africa and across the Middle East, they’re not satisfied with the way things are going. Sure this idea of democracy was injected into the region, but it has brought mostly chaos. So, I think the U.S. role, the U.S. example, is not the one that is on the– on the mind of the youth internationally. People are looking more to — to different kinds of models.

This page is where we will assemble the best information about what makes entitlement spending an “asteroid,” and therefore a substantial threat to our future. It will serve as a resource for Asteroid Clubs wishing to present entitlement spending as a part of their event.

We’d like you to participate in crowd-sourcing the best data, the most compelling reads, and the smartest videos by posting a comment under the relevant section (with source links). We’ll mine the comments and continue to build the case with your help.

At the bottom of the page you’ll find “The Telescope” for climate change. It’s where we’ll seek to view the asteroid in more depth, dimension and accuracy – giving good arguments mitigating the threat of the entitlement spending their due. Telescopes reveal complexity we’re likely to ignore if we’re freaking out about an incoming asteroid.

This page is where we will assemble the best information about what makes the decreasing number of Americans living in a two-parent household an “asteroid,” and therefore a substantial threat to our future. It will serve as a resource for Asteroid Clubs wishing to present dissolution of the family as a part of their event.

We’d like you to participate in crowd-sourcing the best data, the most compelling reads, and the smartest videos by posting a comment under the relevant section (with source links). We’ll mine the comments and continue to build the case with your help.

At the bottom of the page you’ll find “The Telescope” for the dissolution of the family. It’s where we’ll seek to view the asteroid in more depth, dimension and accuracy – giving good arguments mitigating the threat of the asteroid their due. Telescopes reveal complexity we’re likely to ignore if we’re freaking out about an incoming asteroid.

Here are the most relevant, believable and sourced facts that argue that entitlement spending is, indeed, an incoming asteroid. Please link your fact to its source.

Here are the most relevant, believable and sourced facts that argue that the decreasing number of Americans living in stable families is, indeed, an incoming asteroid. Please link your fact to its source.

Help us add to our library by using the comment thread to suggest quality reading on entitlement spending. Keep in mind that you are looking for sources that people who don’t believe entitlement spending is a future risk might find convincing in moving them toward seeing the asteroid. Be sure to also assess the credibility of your source through the lens of someone less likely to agree with you (to convince a liberal, you might want to avoid citing Ann Coulter or Fox News). Emotional and intuitive arguments can be very effective, but evaluate them critically first – anything that demonizes or belittles those who resist the notion that entitlement spending has to be reformed will only serve to cement their resistance.

Help us add to our library by using the comment thread to suggest quality reading on dissolution of the family. Keep in mind that you are looking for sources that people who don’t believe entitlement spending is a future risk might find convincing in moving them toward seeing the asteroid. Be sure to also assess the credibility of your source through the lens of someone less likely to agree with you (to convince a liberal, you might want to avoid citing Ann Coulter or Fox News). Emotional and intuitive arguments can be very effective, but evaluate them critically first – anything that demonizes or belittles those who don’t think the nuclear family is at risk will only serve to cement their resistance.

“The telescope” is an exercise that allows a closer look at the asteroid. What questions are skeptics asking? Far from being annoyances, their concerns can serve to help us see the asteroid in more depth, dimension and accuracy. Remember that at the same time that people on your side of the aisle are more likely to see your asteroid, they’re also more likely to be blind to some of the critical details about it (read about morality binding us together and blinding us here). If you’re in the business of deflecting asteroids, an unflinching steely-eyed understanding of the asteroid is critical to getting the job done. In contrast, self-delusion very often ends badly.

“The telescope” is an exercise that allows a closer look at the asteroid. What questions are skeptics asking? Far from being annoyances, their concerns can serve to help us see the asteroid in more depth, dimension and accuracy. Remember that at the same time that people on your side of the aisle are more likely to see your asteroid, they’re also more likely to be blind to some of the critical details about it (read about morality binding us together and blinding us here). If you’re in the business of deflecting asteroids, an unflinching steely-eyed understanding of the asteroid is critical to getting the job done. In contrast, self-delusion very often ends badly.