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Last Updated: Aug 22, 2008 - 12:10:50 AM |
Only a small part of the East
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Several weeks ago, Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev told the New York Times that with America in essentially a depression, it was in no position to lecture other countries on how to conduct their affairs. He went on to say that Russia (flush with cash from oil) had a right to assume a larger role in the world economy - an economy that should no longer be dominated by the United States.
I think it may be a good idea for the Russian president to follow one of his kind-of, sort-of predecessors by making a visit to Iowa. Nikita Khrushchev apparently at one time thought the Soviet Union would lead the world - but a visit to the flyover state of Iowa probably gave him pause. During his 1959 visit to Iowa, he described agriculture as America’s biggest success and communism’s biggest failure. Although the Soviet Union no longer exists and Russia is today no longer technically communist, what Khrushchev said nearly 50 years ago still holds true.
This is not a country in a depression. Take a look out your window while driving along any country road - no other country on earth can produce what is being produced right here in Iowa. Agriculture is still America’s biggest success.
It has been a rough several years for the Good Old U.S. of A. Certainly our stature has declined on the world stage - as evidenced by the boldness of President Medvedev in challenging American economic might. The most extreme among us might ask, “Who cares what the French (or Germans or Peruvians, etc.) think?
We should all care - it is awfully hard to be a world leader if no one is following. Right now, few are following. For all the garbage and muck thrown around in the political circus - and it will almost certainly get worse - right now, more than ever, an election will be a good thing. Not so much for any failure on the part of the current administration but because as a nation, we need to break away from 9/11 and Katrina and, yes, Iraq to begin on a new American course for the future.
We are not attackers, we are not imperialists, we are not torturers - at least we shouldn’t be - we need to once again show the world the power of our hard work and decency of intent. Regardless of who the next President of the United States will be, that person must set this nation on a forward looking course.
And despite the oil money and swagger, Russia can hardly claim itself an economic success. Although the economy is rapidly growing, the average Russian earns a small fraction of what the average American earns, the Russian unemployment rate is slightly higher as is the percent of the population in poverty. To top it all off, the typical American will outlive the typical Russian by more than a decade.
Certainly, as Americans we will face some serious hurdles in the coming years - and if ever there was a time to not sit on our laurels, this would be it. The U.S. emerged as the world’s sole superpower through hard work, innovation and perseverance. We can do all that again, but that, of course, means getting to work.
Russia can continue to play catch-up - and we should take some pride in the fact that such a large and impressive nation is finding success through capitalism and democracy. We should be happy they are still following our lead.
© Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
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