I'm absolutely tired of Stanley Fish. As our class debates showed, Science is much loved and revered despite... well... pretty much any alternative. I think I would much rather talk about fixing ourselves.
When I say fix ourselves, I don't mean you or a neighbor, I mean we as Americans. We need to fix America and along the way, ourselves as citizens. I'm tired of trying to solve the world's problems, and appararently so are many other Americans. A recent editorial,Who Will Tell The People? by Thomas L. Friedman, explores the growing desire in America for nation-building. And not foreign nation-building.
Americans want to bring jobs back to the U.S. Unemployment is at a nearing a fifteen year high with nearly 8.1 million citizens registering as unemployed. We've seen such a huge concern for illegal immigration arise over the past few years as more and more Americans feel the need to blame someone for their own lack of ambition, capability, and political sensibility. When a southern Virginia farmer wanders into the USDA building in Washington D.C. to complain that he can't find any legal laborers despite his offered a wages that are $2 above minimum wage, it should become clear something is terribly wrong. Especially when the fact that he hails from a region of Virginia that has high percentages of inhabitants that live off government subsidies is taken into consideration.
America has lost it's focus amongst its grandeur. The generations following the Baby Boomers have been absorbed with the luxuries afforded to them by their parents, learning how to spend money, not conserve it. Baby Boomers felt the need to prove themselves, to be as frugal and ecclectic as their Great Depression and WWII surviving parents while improving the world around them (and in the process reaping the benefits of their diligence and innovation).
Subsequent generations have lost this focus. The 80's and 90's brought forth an extended version of the Roaring '20s. Computers, the Internet, cable television, cell phones, CD's, MP3's, laptops, handeld video games, globalization, outsourcing, cost-efficient cars, Bill Clinton,' don't ask, don't tell', Gulf War, online stock markets, human genome project, nanotechnology, and various other people, ideas, policies, schemes, breakthroughs, and innovations entered mainstream American life. Money was made as quickly as it was spent but that was okay because we had a national surplus.
Today, we are reaping the benefits. George Bush's son has decided to carry out his father's legacy and to complete the American conquest of Iraq. The environment is likely failing, the American economy is in the dumps (the Chinese have more American dollars than America does), science is dominating our way of life, everyone has ADD or ADHD, and more money is being spent on gas than on food (although with grain price increases this trend will not last long). Yet still, college campuses are plaster with signs begging you to see the 'invisible children' or to cure AIDS in Africa.
The time has come for Americans to save America. Feed people starving in Weiss, VA. Find a paying job, regardless of whether or not you are 'above' it. Get off welfare. Seek an education, become motivated, show an interest in overachievement over self-indulgence. Become doctors and scientists (they make money too). Make America great once more.
1 comment:
Thomas Friedman would not doubt agree with you. He has been calling for Americans, especially American students, to invest in their skills, improve their self-discipline, and acknowledge the challenge we face from the motivated and energetic people in India and China who are eager to reap the financial benefits of opening their economies to global trade.
But Friedman would also be the first to acknowledge that the United States is inextricably linked to other nations around the world, and despite our economic woes, we are still a mighty force with international responsibilities we cannot shake. I agree with you that some American self-repair is no doubt in order, but I would also ask if you are recommending a move toward American isolationism. If so, what might be the global consequences of such a practice?
Post a Comment