Underneath American's joy and hoopla while celebrating the Fourth of July was deepseated doubt about this country's ability to compete and win in a rapidlt changing world (of course Olympic swimming sensation like Michael Phelps and sprinters like Edward Torres, Allyson Felix, Muna and other US WR/OR holders will shine in Beijing).
Pick up any paper or watch Anderson Cooper on CNN and you're sure to see a commentator saying that America is in decline and is incapable of fixing its own problems. New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, says to forget Iraq and Afghanistan; we need nation building right here in America, and nothing else really matters. Newsweek commentator, Fareed Zakaria captures American anxiety in his new book. He notes that the world's tallest building is in Taipei. Its largest publicly traded company is in Beijing. Its biggest refinery is being constructed in India, and so on.
Building things is a good indication of a society's relative confidence. We haven't built a new refinery or nuclear power plant in 30 years. Seven years after 9/11 we've barely broken ground on the replacement for the World Trade Center. Indeed, more than 80% of Americans think that this country is on the wrong track. There is a growing sense that America's political leaders are unable to meet out most pressing challenges.
So Obama, now that you are the Dem nominee, please don't promise us change or hope. That's not fair. It's too much. Just make it sucks less!
Pick up any paper or watch Anderson Cooper on CNN and you're sure to see a commentator saying that America is in decline and is incapable of fixing its own problems. New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, says to forget Iraq and Afghanistan; we need nation building right here in America, and nothing else really matters. Newsweek commentator, Fareed Zakaria captures American anxiety in his new book. He notes that the world's tallest building is in Taipei. Its largest publicly traded company is in Beijing. Its biggest refinery is being constructed in India, and so on.
Building things is a good indication of a society's relative confidence. We haven't built a new refinery or nuclear power plant in 30 years. Seven years after 9/11 we've barely broken ground on the replacement for the World Trade Center. Indeed, more than 80% of Americans think that this country is on the wrong track. There is a growing sense that America's political leaders are unable to meet out most pressing challenges.
So Obama, now that you are the Dem nominee, please don't promise us change or hope. That's not fair. It's too much. Just make it sucks less!