Pondering On the Eve of Independence

It is appropriate on the eve of the 232nd anniversary of the birth of the United States of America that we reflect on the state of the nation. A trip around the blogs this week finds two posts that will give you pause. The first is a post by Steve DeAngelis, Enterra Solutions offers a suggestion that the trademark product of Enterra Solutions, has an application in America. Development-in-a-Box™ at Home in America Steve begins.

In a recent op-ed piece, New York Times' columnist Thomas Friedman insisted that the next U.S. president needs to focus on "nation-building at home" ["Anxious in America," 29 June 2008]. Friedman laments the fact that America's economic situation is so bad that it will undoubtedly become U.S. voters' most important concern during the rest of the campaign season.

Steve's company Enterra Solutions is involved in developing investment and best practices in at-risk emerging nations, and has taken the lead in Iraq by working to set up new businesses that are home-grown enterprises. DeAngelis serves up this essay, in the belief that Enterra's core product, Development-in-a-Box will work here in America.

Steve continues;

I titled this post "Development-in-a-Box™ at Home in America" to connect with Friedman's idea that we need to conduct nation-building at home as well as highlight the fact that America, too, needs to ensure that it builds the future on best practices and global standards. That is the only way that U.S. companies will once again demonstrate the kind of competitive edge that they will need to compete in emerging markets -- the markets that hold the greatest promise of growth in the future. By focusing on competing in new market sectors, America can remain a world leader, but it must invest wisely in new infrastructure, improved education and training, and technologies that will make it more responsive to the global economy.

Much of what this important post strikes to the heart of what ails America. Perception is everything, and as the final paragraph in DeAngelis's post states.

Hope is the clarion call needed to re-instill the kind of values that made America great in the first place. People immigrated to America with nothing but hope in their pockets and they managed to build a great nation. We've gotten lazy as we've wallowed in our success. We have assumed that the good times would always roll and that we could continue to live large without working hard and remaining innovative. We need leaders who can make the clarion call and motivate a new generation to greatness. On that point, Friedman is right, "nothing else matters."

Important words from a man who has a deep commitment to leave a lasting legacy in the people his company is helping to stand on their own. His purpose in writing, is not to offer up new business opportunities for Enterra. This message has been championed by others, like John Kao at Innovation Nation. The majority of American's believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Direction of the country. Polls, posted on www.pollingreport.com/ show that more that between 70 and 84% of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. The direction we think we want take will be tried by whoever becomes president in November.

Page 2.

Another post by Dan at tdaxp.com links to a scary article that describes an incident that had the perpetrators been from any country other than Mexico, it would have led to a call for a new front on the War on Terror, be opened against the country disgorging the killers.
Mexican Cartels and the Fallout From Phoenix Stratfor. After reading Dan's comments, please take the time to read the full article, and ponder what we have lurking in our midst. This followed by revelations about the City of San Francisco running its own foreign policy and immigration program in violation of United States Law. Young illegal immigrants lose their San Francisco sanctuary. No matter how hard the Mayor tried to distance himself from this growing scandal, the record speaks for itself. Newsom pledges to make SF a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

Anyone who reads this blog, or is a first time visitor who takes the time to read my earlier posts, know that I am a strong supporter of legal immigration and the rich benefits that our country reaps from assimilating new Americans from every corner of the world. But, if one breaks the law, they loose their ticket to ride, and they should be sent home, after paying their debt to society.

Final thoughts, one quote by Steve DeAngelis is worth repeating.

We've gotten lazy as we've wallowed in our success. We have assumed that the good times would always roll and that we could continue to live large without working hard and remaining innovative.

If we as a nation don't wake up and get back to the business of working hard and remaining innovative, we will whither on the vine of nations for lack of new leaves and the sap to make us grow. We must be willing to roll up our innovative sleeves and get back to the basics. Frank words, for a people grown fat and lazy, on the milk and honey of being the World's rich kids for half a century.