An idly bitching nation
Once upon a time, the US was a nation that built things. We built the Hoover Dam (during the Great Depression, mind you), the Empire State Building, the Interstate Highway System, the Golden Gate Bridge, the New York City subway, the Erie Canal, the list goes on.
Parents would take their kids to see these wondrous structures, explaining the basic laws of physics that made these things possible, promising that there were opportunities abound for little Johnny or little Susie to become an engineer and someday be a part of building the country's next marvelous feat of human ingenuity.
Thank goodness for China and the UAE for bringing us the Three Gorges Dam and the Burj Dubai to continue inspiring our young imaginations. Because the US is nowhere to be found in this arena. I mean, when was the last time you heard about some great engineering marvel being built in the US? Sure, there's that neat freeway bridge that bypasses the Hoover Dam that was just completed. But, when I think of the last ten years of what has happened in the realm of vast engineering spectacles in the US, here's what comes to mind:
Now, we've become a nation of whiners and cynics. Gov. Christie of NJ shot down plans to build a badly-needed tunnel connecting New York City to New Jersey. Newly-elected Ohio governor Kasich is one of several governors halting what little promise there is in passenger rail development.
Everyone's bitching about jobs. Everyone's bitching about the government spending too much money. Nobody wants to invest in infrastructure or transportation anymore. They just want jobs. That's all they ever talk about is jobs. Nobody ever talks about WHAT these jobs are, how these jobs are going to contribute to bettering American life. They just scream the word "JOBS" because it sounds good in campaign commercials.
The government needs to do more than be a cheerleader to the dwindling economy. Cutting taxes is no longer an acceptable cookie-cutter answer to solving all our problems. It needs to present a plan - an ambitious plan. It needs to spur Americans to start building again. Something great, something that our generation can be proud of, something that will benefit future generations. If it is indeed true that my generation is going to suffer the consequences of current government borrowing, I'd much rather have a cutting-edge high-speed rail system to show for it, rather than just more paychecks going to old people and more shit blowing up overseas.
Republicans have already REALLY pissed me off. First, they have the gall to fuck up the high-speed rail progress that was FINALLY gaining some traction (albeit at a snail's pace) in the US. Then, they blabber on and on about how they're so damned fixated on closing the deficit; yet, they pussy out on actually enacting the changes suggested by the bipartisan deficit commission that included cutting defense spending and Medicare, and reforming Social Security. They're so hellbent on destroying the President that they could give two shits about what they actually accomplish in Washington. Republicans, if you're not going to take meaningful action to balance the budget, pay down the public debt, then what the hell ARE you going to do?
Following the lead of British Conservative and enacting fiscal austerity would be great, if US Republicans actually had the balls to follow through with it. But, they don't. So, they'll just continue to blabber on about government spending, while continuing to spend Uncle Sam's credit card on wars and old people, and while refusing to invest money into anything that will actually produce economic returns (like high-speed rail).
One day, all the glorious manmade creations that dot the American landscape will crumble away from neglect. When little Johnny and little Susie ask "where did they all go?" we will talk not about the innovation and determination that made these things go up, but about the cynicism and our foolish generation of Americans whose neglect brought them down. And, then, I'll have to book plane tickets to Asia to see things that impress me and the kids. Heh... so much for this funny notion of American exceptionalism that these conservatives like to throw at us. At the end of the day, you can't have your tea and drink it, too.
Parents would take their kids to see these wondrous structures, explaining the basic laws of physics that made these things possible, promising that there were opportunities abound for little Johnny or little Susie to become an engineer and someday be a part of building the country's next marvelous feat of human ingenuity.
Thank goodness for China and the UAE for bringing us the Three Gorges Dam and the Burj Dubai to continue inspiring our young imaginations. Because the US is nowhere to be found in this arena. I mean, when was the last time you heard about some great engineering marvel being built in the US? Sure, there's that neat freeway bridge that bypasses the Hoover Dam that was just completed. But, when I think of the last ten years of what has happened in the realm of vast engineering spectacles in the US, here's what comes to mind:
- Failure of the levees in New Orleans
- Bridge collapse in Minneapolis
- The fact that the construction of the new World Trade Center is STILL unfinished after countless delays, bureaucratic strangleholds, etc.
Now, we've become a nation of whiners and cynics. Gov. Christie of NJ shot down plans to build a badly-needed tunnel connecting New York City to New Jersey. Newly-elected Ohio governor Kasich is one of several governors halting what little promise there is in passenger rail development.
Everyone's bitching about jobs. Everyone's bitching about the government spending too much money. Nobody wants to invest in infrastructure or transportation anymore. They just want jobs. That's all they ever talk about is jobs. Nobody ever talks about WHAT these jobs are, how these jobs are going to contribute to bettering American life. They just scream the word "JOBS" because it sounds good in campaign commercials.
The government needs to do more than be a cheerleader to the dwindling economy. Cutting taxes is no longer an acceptable cookie-cutter answer to solving all our problems. It needs to present a plan - an ambitious plan. It needs to spur Americans to start building again. Something great, something that our generation can be proud of, something that will benefit future generations. If it is indeed true that my generation is going to suffer the consequences of current government borrowing, I'd much rather have a cutting-edge high-speed rail system to show for it, rather than just more paychecks going to old people and more shit blowing up overseas.
Republicans have already REALLY pissed me off. First, they have the gall to fuck up the high-speed rail progress that was FINALLY gaining some traction (albeit at a snail's pace) in the US. Then, they blabber on and on about how they're so damned fixated on closing the deficit; yet, they pussy out on actually enacting the changes suggested by the bipartisan deficit commission that included cutting defense spending and Medicare, and reforming Social Security. They're so hellbent on destroying the President that they could give two shits about what they actually accomplish in Washington. Republicans, if you're not going to take meaningful action to balance the budget, pay down the public debt, then what the hell ARE you going to do?
Following the lead of British Conservative and enacting fiscal austerity would be great, if US Republicans actually had the balls to follow through with it. But, they don't. So, they'll just continue to blabber on about government spending, while continuing to spend Uncle Sam's credit card on wars and old people, and while refusing to invest money into anything that will actually produce economic returns (like high-speed rail).
One day, all the glorious manmade creations that dot the American landscape will crumble away from neglect. When little Johnny and little Susie ask "where did they all go?" we will talk not about the innovation and determination that made these things go up, but about the cynicism and our foolish generation of Americans whose neglect brought them down. And, then, I'll have to book plane tickets to Asia to see things that impress me and the kids. Heh... so much for this funny notion of American exceptionalism that these conservatives like to throw at us. At the end of the day, you can't have your tea and drink it, too.