There are certain things that worry me, and nobody seems to be talking about them. In fact, our public conversations tend to go off in directions entirely opposed to where the discussion should be going. For instance:
- Children’s brains are essentially formed, in terms of their ability to learn for the rest of their lives, by age 3. What do we do about that? I don’t know, but it’s weird that we can’t even make up our minds to fund 4K for all the kids who could benefit from it.
- Also on education — we need to bring about serious reforms in public education, from consolidating districts to merit pay to empowering principals. But thanks to our governor and his ilk, we talk about whether we want to support public schools at all.
- China is growing and modernizing its military at a pace that matches its economic growth. It won’t be all that long before it achieves parity with our own. But instead of talking about matching that R&D, we can’t make up our minds to commit the resources necessary to fight a low-intensity conflict against relatively weak enemies with low-tech weapons.
Anyway, there was an op-ed piece in the WSJ today about the latter worry:
China has a vast internal market newly unified by modern transport and communications; a rapidly flowering technology; an irritable but highly capable workforce that as long as its standard of living improves is unlikely to push the country into paralyzing unrest; and a wider world, now freely accessible, that will buy anything it can make. China is threatened neither by Japan, Russia, India, nor the Western powers, as it was not that long ago. It has an immense talent for the utilization of capital, and in the free market is as agile as a cat.
Unlike the U.S., which governs itself almost unconsciously, reactively and primarily for the short term, China has plotted a long course, in which with great deliberation it joins economic growth to military power. Thirty years ago, in what may be called the "gift of the Meiji," Deng Xiaoping transformed the Japanese slogan fukoku kyohei (rich country, strong arms) into China’s 16-Character Policy: "Combine the military and the civil; combine peace and war; give priority to military products; let the civil support the military."
Anyway, discuss amongst yourselves. And if you can, try to get the people running for president to talk about it. We need them to…
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The centralized government in China can focus its national collective energy on broad initiatives. Brad’s idol, Thomas Friedman, summarized this with an enlightening piece. In it he explains how our politicians are not willing to speak truth to the power (voters). (Actually, he suggests Obama is the apt to do so.)
Education is the foundation of society. While we were spinning our wheels in the mud pit of the private voucher debate in the recent superintendent of education race, real reform was a cargo that was undelivered. For example, Mr. Rex was able to run as the savior of private schools in lieu of addressing the damning academic disparity between whites and minorities. The media shirked it’s responsibility as the gatekeeper of democracy by focus on the sexy story and not the meaningful one. (Vouchers would not undermine our schools nor would they provide comprehensive reform.)
We as a country are resting on our laurels while other countries have the hunger and drive of our recent ancestors. Our kids have $150 shoes, Ipods, and a sense of entitlement revealed when something is not given to them (I see this daily).
As Friedman says, “who will tell the people?”
Seriously, have you or Thomas Friedman actually heard Obama articulate a single propasal beyond one vague sentence?
None of Obama’s supporters can describe a single policy that will benefit them, and how.
By the way, it was Friedman’s role model, Will Greider at the Wasington Post, who authored a book titled, “Who Will Tell the People?”
China is growing and modernizing its military at a pace that matches its economic growth.
-Brad
So China is foolishly wasting it’s economy on a bunch of worthless military crap. Why is this our concern? With a military budget approaching $700 billion, more than the next 20 nations combined, we really, really, really don’t have to worry about any military threats from abroad. Brad, you can cross this off your list of things to worry about. China will go the way of the Soviet Union if it tries to match our military budget. We don’t need to spend more. We could actually spend less money, more wisely and be much better off.
Some interesting points about world military spending. From:
http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp#InContextUSMilitarySpendingVersusRestoftheWorld
US military spending accounts for 48 percent, or almost half, of the world’s total military spending
US military spending is more than the next 46 highest spending countries in the world combined
US military spending is 5.8 times more than China, 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times more than Iran.
US military spending is almost 55 times the spending on the six “rogue” states (Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) whose spending amounts to around $13 billion, maximum. (Tabulated data does not include four of the six, as the data only lists nations that have spent over 1 billion in the year, so their budget is assumed to be $1 billion each)
US spending is more than the combined spending of the next 45 countries.
The United States and its strongest allies (the NATO countries, Japan, South Korea and Australia) spend $1.1 trillion on their militaries combined, representing 72 percent of the world’s total.
The six potential “enemies,” Russia, and China together account for about $205 billion or 29% of the US military budget.
Are we really spending too little on military crap?
The nations of the world are like kids on a playground, bud. Bigger, stronger, smarter and faster controls the ball.
We’ve got the ball, bud. Why should we give it away?
Here’s my analogy. The U.S. military is like the N.Y. Giants and the next biggest military power is Latta High School. The pro-war folks are worried that Latta improved it’s record from 1-10 to 3-8 therefore a crash program, including the use of steroids, is needed to ensure the NFL champion retains it’s edge. Of course the steroids might give the Giants an even bigger edge for a while but in the long run the team will suffer grave health effects from the steroids.
Do you think that Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Red China were / are planning to guide their nuclear strikes on America so as to kill the fewest liberals and other useful idiots?
Do you think that you will be able to tell a hijacker that you voted for Obama, so just let you go and kill the others?
Our country has:
Been the first to fly and pioneered supersonic flight
Discovered and invented synthetic fibers eventually leading to the exploration of new fields in chemistry
Invented transistors and pioneered follow-on solid state eletronic advances
Led in the invention, application and miniaturization of computers
Pioneered space flight and space exploration, including the first extraterrestrial space missions
Led the world in discoveries of medicines and pioneered new medical technologies that have improved quality of life and saved millions of lives
Fed and clothed the world
Inspired the world as a shining light of freedom, and defended that freedom fiercely when necessary and exported it when possible
And on and on and on.
You know what else? Nearly all of it has been done by people who did not grow up during times when there was fully funded 4K in place, or even contemplated.
It is therefore very difficult for me to get excited about 4K which amounts to nothing more, really, than another expansion of a failed and collapsing government system that indulges bureaucrats and indoctrinates kids.
NO soup for you!! David
There is a certain thing that worries me in the “History Today” section on page A2:
1948: ‘According to’ … and ‘proclaimed’
What kind of convoluted English is that to say Happy Anniversary to the independent state of Israel?!?
What if we had to preface every 4th of July shout with that kind of garble?
Someone must have put some extra testosterone in Brad’s Wheaties… all this talk of military buildup and invading Myanmar…
It’s sort of like me talking about changing the way competitive ballroom dancing is judged. Never could dance, never will dance, don’t know a whole lot about dancing… but that shouldn’t prevent me from deciding the best way to do it, should it?
This is my greatest fear of a McCain presidency – a guy who is defined by his military career will likely respond to any situation using a military solution.
***Update on the Mecca of Disorder***
The over-the-top, proselytizing eyes billboards [in Lexington and Irmo] of the “BelieveSC” organization are gone…
Off-subject, but relevant.
Militarily-speaking.
That’s an interesting fantasy, bud. It bears no relation to reality. China’s military is modernizing at a rate that could match ours this generation.
Unless you’re talking baseball. If you’re saying we’re like the NY Giants, the defunct baseball team, you’re getting the idea, although that might be a slight exaggeration.
The thing is that with a large chunk of the U.S. population thinking the way bud is, and NOBODY talking strategically, the smart money is on China to dominate this century. That’s why Nicholas Kristof says he’s making sure HIS kids speak Chinese.
Actually, Doug, what I’m suggesting here is that we get serious about the whole DIME. We keep arguing about the "M," but it’s the whole DIME we need to be thinking of…
While you’re pondering that, watch this again. And read this. And think about it.
When the only tool you have, everything begins to look like a nail.
McCain has already said he doesn’t know much about the economy. He says he’ll rely on “experts” in order to develop the right economic plan…which is exactly what got us here in the first place.
He’s demonstrated that he is easily led astray by faulty science and slick packaging in his unwavering endorsement of Al Gores’ sillines and in promising to ruin this country by tilting at the global warming windmill.
I think Dougs’ fears are well founded. It may be so that McCain will not respond militarily to every threat, but we can pretty well rest assured he’ll be wrong in most of his responses. He certainly has been thus far.Dave
oops, I meant that when the only tool you have is a HAMMER, everything begins to look like a nail. David
China has a lot more players than Latta High School, bud.
And many more than we do — 1,321,851,888 as of July 2007, to be exact, though China is almost exactly the same size as the United States in area.
The United States passed 300 million in population in 2006, so the Chinese outnumber us more than four to one.
So you see, bud, we can’t be too strong.
Nicholas Kristof, like most of his ilk, has the mentality of kow towing, rather than fighting.
The thing is that with a large chunk of the U.S. population thinking the way bud is, and NOBODY talking strategically, the smart money is on China to dominate this century.
-Brad
So what? The Japanese have a tiny military than dominates nothing and they have the longest life expectancy in the world. Let the Chinese choke on their military ambitions. It’s a fool’s errand to try and dominate the world militarily.
Here’s my military plan:
Withdraw all troops from all countries outside the western hemisphere.
Reduce the size of the navy by cutting back by half on aircraft carriers, attack submarines and assault ships.
Re-build the army by techniques to improve troop moral. This would include increased troop pay, fringe benefits and better VA facilities. This would be paid for by cutbacks in un-needed high-tech weaponry.
Replace aging F-15s with modern F-22s and F-35s. This will allow us to maintain a qualitative edge over any adversaries.
Eliminate costly and un-needed weapons such as the Osprey.
Eliminate the useless missile defense program.
Increase diplomatic efforts. With the goodwill established by removing our military presence abroad this task will be much easier.
With a smaller, yet more effective military we can successfully defend our sovereignty while freeing up resources to improve health care, energy and the overall welfare of all Americans. In the end by focusing less on the military and more on domestic tranquility we’ll be safer, wealthier and healthier.
And how will our enemies react to you full-speed retreat?
Gee, bud. I thought your writing had been getting sharper. But there’s no defense for your defense plan, because it doesn’t provide any.
Because we HAVE dominated the world militarily for every moment of your life, you apparently have no concept of what might happen if we pull our troops from any and all strategic locations outside our own backyard.