SB Shine’s new book PAIN AWAITS is aptly titled because it reflects the pain that the American government, economy, and people are experiencing as we begin to fear that, like the Roman Empire, we are in decline and fall. Shine looks at many of the causes of this situation, ranging from illegal immigration and government overspending to drug culture and a lack of strong family values in younger generations, but does not dwell so much on the problems as in solutions.
How to solve the problem of America’s current situation is easily an overwhelming topic to ponder, but Shine breaks the problem down into manageable chunks. The book is divided into several parts, each of which addresses an important aspect of the problem, including Finance, Security, Economics, and what Shine calls “The Dirty Dozen.” This Dirty Dozen includes topics such as whether taxes are too high or too low, America’s acting as a charity toward other countries, regulation, voting, unions, government property, Russia, and the importance of volunteering.
The title of the book is also appropriate because implementing the solutions – doing the hard work of solving America’s problems – will not be easy. It will likely be very painful, especially for politicians who may need to accept lower wages, for government employees who may no longer have comfortable jobs, and for many taxpayers.
Nor will everyone agree on the solutions; some will not even agree on what the problems are. That said, this book was very revealing to me on many issues, and while I did not agree with all of Shine’s opinions or solutions, I found that he never held back from telling it like it is, and always argued his points. very rationally, backing them up with research and numerous citations. In truth, this is no small book, and the depth of Shine’s research on its subjects really blew me away.
An issue Shine discussed made me change the way I thought the issue of immigration was. I never understood the need for a wall or why we should have such a strong anti-immigration policy when we are a country of immigrants and we should all be grateful that our ancestors were allowed into this country. However, Shine shows that today’s immigration situation is not a discussion of what the United States represents as a country willing to embrace the world’s abundant masses who yearn to be free. Instead, the problem of illegal immigration is one in which gangs and drug traffickers are heavily involved. While many of the illegal immigrants entering this country are legitimately seeking a better life, there are also staunch criminals who seek to profit at our country’s expense by getting our citizens addicted to drugs and taking their money, without paying taxes. thus. , back to their own countries. Despite this reality, Shine does not advocate for President Trump’s wall per se, but rather offers rational solutions on how to protect the border. Once again, I admired Shine because he does not present himself as a Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative, but simply as a true patriot with common sense who wants to help.
Another topic that opened my eyes was foreign aid. It made me realize how the United States acts like a charity for helping other countries. As Shine reveals, the amount of foreign aid that the United States gives, to whom that aid is given, and the reasons for giving it are truly staggering. I am fully in favor of helping people in need, but not at the expense of our own financial or political stability. With our national debt of $ 20 trillion and counting, Shine’s argument that we should eliminate unnecessary foreign aid and use the money instead to improve our infrastructure and national security, which would benefit all American citizens, is difficult to make. argue.
One of the most controversial proposals Shine makes has to do with the prison system. Believes that prison systems should impose harsher penalties; They shouldn’t be like country clubs for criminals. One of the harshest suggestions Shine makes in the entire book is that the worst prisoners should be sent to prisons abroad (supervised by the United States, of course); this exile would make people think twice before committing crimes. I have to admit that this sounds a bit cruel to prisoners, but as Shine points out, families could still visit or Skype with prisoners, and it would be cheaper to operate prisons outside of American soil. Shine does not claim that this or any of its solutions are easy. Some decisions will be difficult and painful if we want to reverse the mess our country has gotten into, but in this situation, these people are criminals after all, so they deserve to do their part to bear that pain.
And then there is terrorism. This issue is one of the scariest, if not the scariest, facing the United States today. Shine offers an excruciating scenario of how terrorists could easily take over an American school, much like the psychopathic school shooters we have today, only these terrorists would do it not just to kill children and commit suicide, but to hold our children back to. ask for a ransom and then kill them anyway after receiving the ransom money and despite the government’s policy of not negotiating with terrorists, how could they do otherwise when there are a few hundred children at stake? If you read this book for no other reason, you should read what Shine has to say about terrorism and our best hopes of preventing it from happening in our country.
Overall, PAIN AWAITS is a surprising, perhaps shocking, but completely realistic look at the state of our union. This book would be a good idea for all Americans to read, and it should be a must-read for anyone in a position in local, state, or national government. If our politicians were to implement just a few of the thoughtful suggestions that SB Shine makes, I believe America could once again be a stable country that we can all be proud of once again. Even if you disagree with Shine on most points, you will benefit from reading PAIN AWAITS because it will make you think about possible solutions and hopefully encourage you to be a good citizen by taking action, and that will make it a lot. more difficult. difference than simply complaining about how things are currently. After all, change must start with each of us.
