"It is unserious to talk about renewables and not nuclear." <-- This is precisely why I cannot take climate alarmists seriously. For the past 20 years I've been hearing "Warmists" screaming about how we'll all die if we don't do something RIGHT NOW! But they persistently reject nuclear energy, despite the fact that it is the only short-term-feasible replacement for fossil fuels when it comes to generating on-demand electricity.
It's like saying you'll do ANYTHING to survive cancer...but you won't go through chemo, despite the fact that it's a proven treatment for your type of cancer. If you just take enough vitamins....
While I do generally agree with some statements in this article, there are many where I completely disagree. US technological prowess still shines in some areas, but has completely despaired in others.
Before I come to these points that I disagree, everyone should look around them and try to find one thing that is not "Made in China". For majority of people this will be impossible. Every one of these things that was Made in China, there is Chinse company behind it, that didn't exist 30 years before. So notion, that US is somehow special with regard of new and revolutionary companies might have been on point 30 years ago but not now.
Yes USA has Tesla, but China has in same period, yielded Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto, GAC, BYD and many more new car manufactures. Same goes for many other industries, Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, Maituan, Huawei, Xiaomi, CATL, ZTE, OPPO, Lenovo, Haier, TikTok I could literally go whole day, all these companies are leaders in their own field and all were foundend in last 30 years.
US might have exceptional large number of Software unicorns, but in China, there were even larger number of manufacturing and software unicorns that have shown up in last 30 years, and many of those were build, on outsourcing of American jobs to China.
If US is to compete with China and win, it should also start manufacture again, yes US has "drive to build things", but it should have "drive to manufacture in US".
US is to lead the world with its technological prowess, we should avoid doing what we did in last 30 years, where some stuff was "Designed in USA" but in the end completely Manufactured in China. Because very soon more and more stuff will be Designed and Manufactured in China.
This means fixing US education, getting ideology out of universities (especially STEM) and also finally fixing US failing infrastructure. in the 1960 infrastructure was best in the world. Today it is still stucked in 1960.
“Build PCR tests so that a nasal swab stops the nation from closing businesses at the mere sight of Covid case increases.”
————————————————
No we don’t need that shit. There’s already a surplus of shystering in this area. They just came out with a COVID breathalyzer FFS I’m not kidding.
What we need is psychiatric care for the children whose psychotic parents turned them into Bill Murray’s character in ‘What About Bob’……actually never mind because the Democrat ‘mental health professional’ will probably just parlay the hypochondria into an opportunity to convince the kid they are trans.
“It is unserious to prioritize the old over the young, to shut down public schools for two years in the name of safety”
——————————————
I’ve actually shifted my position on this. Now that it’s evident that Democrats were using public schools to ask 12-year-olds who can’t read if they like being choked during sex, I think we should keep the schools closed.
A rising crime rate. Increased use of illicit drugs. Open borders. Increased control of information in fewer hands. Attacks on free speech by those who control the flow of information. The death of journalism. False claims of systemic racism. Demands for instant satisfaction. And a President who is seriously cognitively impaired and corrupt and worse than a bad joke. (He claimed he was running to restore decency to the White House and yet he and his Press Secretary viciously attack the best White House reporter, a young man who respectfully asks embarrassing questions that need to be asked). The evidence of America’s decline is overwhelming.
I think absurd is a better description of the cause of what ails America rather than unseriousness.
It is absurd to impose solutions without having taken the time to investigate the problem - i. e. CAGW, which is absurdly referred to as Climate Change.
It is absurd to release those already on bail when they are arrested for allegedly committing new crimes. And it is absurd to describe this practice of universal bail as no bail.
It is absurd to allow people to enter America without understanding who they are and why they should be admitted.
It is absurd to claim that America is systemically racist when those with the highest incomes are Asian immigrants who obviously work harder than native born Americans.
It is absurd to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a liberal arts education when one can be obtained for free at your local library or online.
It is absurd for people to expect to have a good standard of living if they are uneducated or haven’t learned a trade, or are lazy or do drugs.
It is absurd to deny that today’s deficits are tomorrow’s inflation and/or taxes and that balancing budgets are economic and ethical imperatives.
It is absurd to think that you can have free and fair elections without a fair and competent media.
It is absurd to think that honesty is no longer the best policy.
It is absurd to claim that there are more than two genders. And it is absurd to allow biological males to compete with females.
It is absurd to think that you can create a democracy in a country without the essential requirements of freedom of speech, freedom of and from religion, gender equality and equality of citizenship. And It is absurd to claim that Afghanistan suddenly collapsed.
Finally, I love technology, but it is absurd to claim that technology can rescue America unless the above absurdities are addressed.
The first order of business would be to get the establishment out of the establishment; just as there is a minimum age to serve in Congress there should be a maximum age as well. If you can't steal or vote, or heaven forbid earn enough to retire by age 70, then Washington is not your town.
I am not sure about the statement about 'the most educated generation in America'.. Educated in what? Is the auhor counting the overall number of handed college degrees?
One of our problems lies in the proliferation of liberal education with supposedly accredited colleges doling out degrees in subjects that are not leading to a profession or vocation creating a vicious cycle of more people without any particular knowledge or skill. Hence, the army of low wage millennial and others not able to find well-paying jobs and remain miserable blaming the entire country for their misfortune. Their parents generation made a huge mistake of deciding that social justice, ethnic studies, etc. could become a profession and employed Hollywood and media to perpetuate the myth. America is now paying the price.
“It is unserious to watch the most educated generation in American history not be able to afford a starter home.”
———————————————-
Meh. Really only ‘most educated’ in the way that Hillary was ‘most qualified’. If you spend 4 hours a day at the gym are you ‘most physically fit’? It depends if you go to the gym to smoke crack and eat donuts. College in 2022 is crack and donuts for most people receiving an ‘education’.
(Again, I will insist we should discharge most student debt by suing schools the way Trump University got sued for worthless degrees)
My parents are a really bad example but still they proudly use their Social Security money to pay some of their property taxes. Homes are expensive because nobody who *stops working* is forced to downsize. Other reasons too, obv. We need to delete the New Deal.
"It is unserious to watch the most educated generation in American history not be able to afford a starter home." I'm sorry, but most people I worked with were buying nice starter homes in their twenties. Now, they were mostly Indians and Chinese who had learned valuable STEM skills. If America was serious, it would stop squandering money on school levies. Bangalore is doing a good enough job managing that for us. America teaches non-serious topics, the sum of which should not be confused with education. To call this generation the most educated in history is both hyperbolic and misleading, yielding unmerited self-pity.
"It is unserious to pour six trillion dollars into failed nation-building—more than three times what has gone into American venture-backed technology companies in the same two decades—only to let a nation collapse in a jumbled weekend withdrawal."
Katherine, are you suggesting America First policies? You know those same policies the media elite call racist, xenophobic, anti-semantic. You are aware that advocating for America is simply code for fascism aren't you?
I agree with Boyle’s take; but isn’t this more or less if not exactly President Trump’s agenda?
Is it a coincidence that Trump is a builder?
So following Boyle’s points would be directly counter to the Democratic vision for the country, of big-government retrenchment.
I feel that Bari dances around the fact that the voices which excite her are essentially populist Republican, because to declare that allegiance would ruin her brand of moderate reformer of the liberal bloc.
But sooner or later, maybe 2024, she’ll have to take a stand.
I am reminded of two quotes from two centuries apart:
Alexis de Tocqueville: "The strength of free peoples resides in the local community. Local institutions are to liberty what primary schools are to science: they put it within the people's reach"
Newt Gingrich: "December 7th 1941 to August 14th, 1945 is less than 4 years. In less than 4 years, we defeated Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan. Today it takes 23 years to add a 5th runway to the Atlanta airport. We are simply not prepared, today, to be a serious country."
How do we bring the spirit of the young, agarian America (that deTocqueville celebrated) into the 21st century to combat the aging imperial decadence (that Gingrich laments) which we now find ourselves in? I suspect the answer lies in decentralization and federalism (deTocqueville thought that too), but our roads all lead in the opposite direction today.
"The top six companies by market capitalization in the U.S. are technology companies. The prevailing trend of this century is that technology will continue to improve civic functions in this country"
Considering the anti-social and anti-democratic behavior of these same companies over the last 5 years, the confidence expressed here appears misplaced. Regardless, this was a good perspective, and a great example of why I subscribe here.
"Building is a political philosophy. It is neither red nor blue, progressive nor conservative."
Wrong. One camp (so called "progressives") has repeatedly put barriers in the way of economic growth ("we invented fracking") in the name of climate change or equity or harm reduction or safe spaces or yadda yadda yadda. The left has always been the party of chaos and destruction, and to argue otherwise is...how should I say...not serious.
If "seriousness" is defined as focus and will, then the U.S. military fails on both counts. First it was humanitarian efforts and nation building. Today it's diversity, equity, inclusion and fulfillment (whatever that means) of the individual soldier. Our military leaders (such as they are) are steadily destroying the most basic capabilities of recognizing, confronting and killing the enemy.
The Case for American Seriousness
"It is unserious to talk about renewables and not nuclear." <-- This is precisely why I cannot take climate alarmists seriously. For the past 20 years I've been hearing "Warmists" screaming about how we'll all die if we don't do something RIGHT NOW! But they persistently reject nuclear energy, despite the fact that it is the only short-term-feasible replacement for fossil fuels when it comes to generating on-demand electricity.
It's like saying you'll do ANYTHING to survive cancer...but you won't go through chemo, despite the fact that it's a proven treatment for your type of cancer. If you just take enough vitamins....
Everything went to shit after the first participation trophy was handed out.
While I do generally agree with some statements in this article, there are many where I completely disagree. US technological prowess still shines in some areas, but has completely despaired in others.
Before I come to these points that I disagree, everyone should look around them and try to find one thing that is not "Made in China". For majority of people this will be impossible. Every one of these things that was Made in China, there is Chinse company behind it, that didn't exist 30 years before. So notion, that US is somehow special with regard of new and revolutionary companies might have been on point 30 years ago but not now.
Yes USA has Tesla, but China has in same period, yielded Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto, GAC, BYD and many more new car manufactures. Same goes for many other industries, Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba, Maituan, Huawei, Xiaomi, CATL, ZTE, OPPO, Lenovo, Haier, TikTok I could literally go whole day, all these companies are leaders in their own field and all were foundend in last 30 years.
US might have exceptional large number of Software unicorns, but in China, there were even larger number of manufacturing and software unicorns that have shown up in last 30 years, and many of those were build, on outsourcing of American jobs to China.
If US is to compete with China and win, it should also start manufacture again, yes US has "drive to build things", but it should have "drive to manufacture in US".
US is to lead the world with its technological prowess, we should avoid doing what we did in last 30 years, where some stuff was "Designed in USA" but in the end completely Manufactured in China. Because very soon more and more stuff will be Designed and Manufactured in China.
This means fixing US education, getting ideology out of universities (especially STEM) and also finally fixing US failing infrastructure. in the 1960 infrastructure was best in the world. Today it is still stucked in 1960.
“Build PCR tests so that a nasal swab stops the nation from closing businesses at the mere sight of Covid case increases.”
————————————————
No we don’t need that shit. There’s already a surplus of shystering in this area. They just came out with a COVID breathalyzer FFS I’m not kidding.
What we need is psychiatric care for the children whose psychotic parents turned them into Bill Murray’s character in ‘What About Bob’……actually never mind because the Democrat ‘mental health professional’ will probably just parlay the hypochondria into an opportunity to convince the kid they are trans.
“It is unserious to prioritize the old over the young, to shut down public schools for two years in the name of safety”
——————————————
I’ve actually shifted my position on this. Now that it’s evident that Democrats were using public schools to ask 12-year-olds who can’t read if they like being choked during sex, I think we should keep the schools closed.
A rising crime rate. Increased use of illicit drugs. Open borders. Increased control of information in fewer hands. Attacks on free speech by those who control the flow of information. The death of journalism. False claims of systemic racism. Demands for instant satisfaction. And a President who is seriously cognitively impaired and corrupt and worse than a bad joke. (He claimed he was running to restore decency to the White House and yet he and his Press Secretary viciously attack the best White House reporter, a young man who respectfully asks embarrassing questions that need to be asked). The evidence of America’s decline is overwhelming.
I think absurd is a better description of the cause of what ails America rather than unseriousness.
It is absurd to impose solutions without having taken the time to investigate the problem - i. e. CAGW, which is absurdly referred to as Climate Change.
It is absurd to release those already on bail when they are arrested for allegedly committing new crimes. And it is absurd to describe this practice of universal bail as no bail.
It is absurd to allow people to enter America without understanding who they are and why they should be admitted.
It is absurd to claim that America is systemically racist when those with the highest incomes are Asian immigrants who obviously work harder than native born Americans.
It is absurd to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a liberal arts education when one can be obtained for free at your local library or online.
It is absurd for people to expect to have a good standard of living if they are uneducated or haven’t learned a trade, or are lazy or do drugs.
It is absurd to deny that today’s deficits are tomorrow’s inflation and/or taxes and that balancing budgets are economic and ethical imperatives.
It is absurd to think that you can have free and fair elections without a fair and competent media.
It is absurd to think that honesty is no longer the best policy.
It is absurd to claim that there are more than two genders. And it is absurd to allow biological males to compete with females.
It is absurd to think that you can create a democracy in a country without the essential requirements of freedom of speech, freedom of and from religion, gender equality and equality of citizenship. And It is absurd to claim that Afghanistan suddenly collapsed.
Finally, I love technology, but it is absurd to claim that technology can rescue America unless the above absurdities are addressed.
The first order of business would be to get the establishment out of the establishment; just as there is a minimum age to serve in Congress there should be a maximum age as well. If you can't steal or vote, or heaven forbid earn enough to retire by age 70, then Washington is not your town.
I am not sure about the statement about 'the most educated generation in America'.. Educated in what? Is the auhor counting the overall number of handed college degrees?
One of our problems lies in the proliferation of liberal education with supposedly accredited colleges doling out degrees in subjects that are not leading to a profession or vocation creating a vicious cycle of more people without any particular knowledge or skill. Hence, the army of low wage millennial and others not able to find well-paying jobs and remain miserable blaming the entire country for their misfortune. Their parents generation made a huge mistake of deciding that social justice, ethnic studies, etc. could become a profession and employed Hollywood and media to perpetuate the myth. America is now paying the price.
“It is unserious to watch the most educated generation in American history not be able to afford a starter home.”
———————————————-
Meh. Really only ‘most educated’ in the way that Hillary was ‘most qualified’. If you spend 4 hours a day at the gym are you ‘most physically fit’? It depends if you go to the gym to smoke crack and eat donuts. College in 2022 is crack and donuts for most people receiving an ‘education’.
(Again, I will insist we should discharge most student debt by suing schools the way Trump University got sued for worthless degrees)
My parents are a really bad example but still they proudly use their Social Security money to pay some of their property taxes. Homes are expensive because nobody who *stops working* is forced to downsize. Other reasons too, obv. We need to delete the New Deal.
"It is unserious to watch the most educated generation in American history not be able to afford a starter home." I'm sorry, but most people I worked with were buying nice starter homes in their twenties. Now, they were mostly Indians and Chinese who had learned valuable STEM skills. If America was serious, it would stop squandering money on school levies. Bangalore is doing a good enough job managing that for us. America teaches non-serious topics, the sum of which should not be confused with education. To call this generation the most educated in history is both hyperbolic and misleading, yielding unmerited self-pity.
"It is unserious to pour six trillion dollars into failed nation-building—more than three times what has gone into American venture-backed technology companies in the same two decades—only to let a nation collapse in a jumbled weekend withdrawal."
Katherine, are you suggesting America First policies? You know those same policies the media elite call racist, xenophobic, anti-semantic. You are aware that advocating for America is simply code for fascism aren't you?
I agree with Boyle’s take; but isn’t this more or less if not exactly President Trump’s agenda?
Is it a coincidence that Trump is a builder?
So following Boyle’s points would be directly counter to the Democratic vision for the country, of big-government retrenchment.
I feel that Bari dances around the fact that the voices which excite her are essentially populist Republican, because to declare that allegiance would ruin her brand of moderate reformer of the liberal bloc.
But sooner or later, maybe 2024, she’ll have to take a stand.
America has gotten soft. That is the crux of the issue.
https://euphoricrecall.substack.com/p/has-america-gotten-soft?s=w
I am reminded of two quotes from two centuries apart:
Alexis de Tocqueville: "The strength of free peoples resides in the local community. Local institutions are to liberty what primary schools are to science: they put it within the people's reach"
Newt Gingrich: "December 7th 1941 to August 14th, 1945 is less than 4 years. In less than 4 years, we defeated Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan. Today it takes 23 years to add a 5th runway to the Atlanta airport. We are simply not prepared, today, to be a serious country."
How do we bring the spirit of the young, agarian America (that deTocqueville celebrated) into the 21st century to combat the aging imperial decadence (that Gingrich laments) which we now find ourselves in? I suspect the answer lies in decentralization and federalism (deTocqueville thought that too), but our roads all lead in the opposite direction today.
"The top six companies by market capitalization in the U.S. are technology companies. The prevailing trend of this century is that technology will continue to improve civic functions in this country"
Considering the anti-social and anti-democratic behavior of these same companies over the last 5 years, the confidence expressed here appears misplaced. Regardless, this was a good perspective, and a great example of why I subscribe here.
"Building is a political philosophy. It is neither red nor blue, progressive nor conservative."
Wrong. One camp (so called "progressives") has repeatedly put barriers in the way of economic growth ("we invented fracking") in the name of climate change or equity or harm reduction or safe spaces or yadda yadda yadda. The left has always been the party of chaos and destruction, and to argue otherwise is...how should I say...not serious.
If "seriousness" is defined as focus and will, then the U.S. military fails on both counts. First it was humanitarian efforts and nation building. Today it's diversity, equity, inclusion and fulfillment (whatever that means) of the individual soldier. Our military leaders (such as they are) are steadily destroying the most basic capabilities of recognizing, confronting and killing the enemy.