America's Global Imperative....MIA

America has lost it's global imperative. It is not hiding around the corner, or on vacation, it is completely MIA. It went on permanent leave when the Communist bloc fell, and suddenly we were the sole superpower in a world accustomed to two ideologies going toe to toe all over the world. The problem with this is that America likes to have the moral high ground, and this we did when were leading the world to freedom and democracy against those dirty commies. But afterwards all we had was our economy, which sounds great, but it is not something that you always feel proud about.

The current political leadership has tried it's darnedest to regain America's global imperative by substituting terrorism for communism. The problem is that it is not working. I agree terrorism is a threat, but it does not rank up with communism. We cannot look on a map and point to a big old huge mass that is the "enemy." Our kids cannot shake in fear of a mass nuclear attack. While terrorism is a threat, it is not the threat that communism is. For much of us in the "Flyover" part of the country, terrorism is a remote distant thing that only happens to those people on the coasts. I am in no way saying that terrorism should be ignored, but we cannot use it as the national rallying cry, it's just not going to work.

My suggestion is that we focus our national efforts on something that is positive, and will help American reclaim the high moral authority we used to have. Instead of being the proverbial big bully, lets pick an issue and lead globally on this issue. For example, we could embrace facing global warming head on, China be damned. We could invest trillions in new technologies and lead the world in deploying these HOMEGROWN technologies. Not only could we brag to the rest of the world while they scramble to catch up, but American companies would be able to export this knowledge and technology across the globe, thus helping our economy as well. I know some out there don't give a crap about global warming, but the rest of the world does. If we are going to gain back our moral and global imperative, it would be a great issue to lead on. If not global warming, pick something...global hunger, water access or literacy. This would restore us to a place of leadership in the world, and give the average American something to believe in again.

Just a thought...JD