As many have noted over the past few days, including President Obama in his weekly address, September 11, 2001 and the weeks following were a time of remarkable political and national unity. In the face of a direct threat to our safety
and security at the hands of a vicious, irrational enemy, America put politics
aside. They did not seem important;
too much was at stake.
Ten years on, while the threat of terrorist attacks persists, our leadership, media, and conversation
focus on a different sort of peril: our decline as a world leader and economic
power. This unpleasant possibility threatens
any sort of security we might hope to enjoy in the future, and we cannot escape the evidence. Millions of unemployed Americans know that the current economic recovery has been
perfunctory and inadequate. Our education system, compared to other developed countries, produces mediocrity. The obesity epidemic ravages the poor and disenfranchised. Amidst these immense challenges, the tone of political discourse is not only hostile, but fatalistic and dejected.
Whereas September 11 galvanized our patriotism and inspired heroic deeds, albeit temporarily, the economic crisis has done the opposite. We are a nation fragmented and misguided, unsure of how to tackle the 21st century and frustrated by our ineptitude. Our politics are pointlessly contentious. How can we emerge triumphant and proud in this era?
This is one of the great mysteries of our time, but I will hazard a guess. If we are to become functional and productive once again, we need to find a common national goal.
Our goal needs to meet a few criteria. To avoid political stalemate, it must be a goal that can be achieved by only one particular means. For example, when President Kennedy captured the nation's imagination by proposing a race to the moon, there was no question that Congress would need to allocate funding to NASA, which would in turn build a top-notch rocket. This was really the only possible way to have a race to the moon.
Our goal also needs to be one that no political party and few individuals would dare to question. During World War II, the civilian workforce rallied against a set of heinous enemies, inspired by a wholesome narrative of military heroism and righteousness. But in the 21st century, videos of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners of war complicated our understanding of military engagement, and so the War on Terror did not unify the nation for long.
While we need to reduce the deficit (to some degree) and create jobs, these will not suffice as our national goals. There is simply too much to argue about. These are necessary tasks, but we need an additional goal that will serve the purpose of uniting us.
So what can President Obama do? There is surely more than one answer, and possibly the most effective tack would be one that none of us have yet imagined, just as President Kennedy inspired his countrymen in 1961.
Alternatively, the President could choose a less fanciful, but eminently achievable and profoundly practical goal. What if, by the end of this decade, American students achieved the highest test scores in reading, science, and math in the world? Unlike President Bush's controversial No Child Left Behind Act, such a goal would hold America to an international standard administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). No longer would individual state programs have the option of achieving goals by lowering expectations. The OECD, a venerated entity that functions above the fray of American politics, already collects the necessary data. All we need to do is move up the charts.
Whereas September 11 galvanized our patriotism and inspired heroic deeds, albeit temporarily, the economic crisis has done the opposite. We are a nation fragmented and misguided, unsure of how to tackle the 21st century and frustrated by our ineptitude. Our politics are pointlessly contentious. How can we emerge triumphant and proud in this era?
This is one of the great mysteries of our time, but I will hazard a guess. If we are to become functional and productive once again, we need to find a common national goal.
Our goal needs to meet a few criteria. To avoid political stalemate, it must be a goal that can be achieved by only one particular means. For example, when President Kennedy captured the nation's imagination by proposing a race to the moon, there was no question that Congress would need to allocate funding to NASA, which would in turn build a top-notch rocket. This was really the only possible way to have a race to the moon.
Our goal also needs to be one that no political party and few individuals would dare to question. During World War II, the civilian workforce rallied against a set of heinous enemies, inspired by a wholesome narrative of military heroism and righteousness. But in the 21st century, videos of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners of war complicated our understanding of military engagement, and so the War on Terror did not unify the nation for long.
While we need to reduce the deficit (to some degree) and create jobs, these will not suffice as our national goals. There is simply too much to argue about. These are necessary tasks, but we need an additional goal that will serve the purpose of uniting us.
So what can President Obama do? There is surely more than one answer, and possibly the most effective tack would be one that none of us have yet imagined, just as President Kennedy inspired his countrymen in 1961.
Alternatively, the President could choose a less fanciful, but eminently achievable and profoundly practical goal. What if, by the end of this decade, American students achieved the highest test scores in reading, science, and math in the world? Unlike President Bush's controversial No Child Left Behind Act, such a goal would hold America to an international standard administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). No longer would individual state programs have the option of achieving goals by lowering expectations. The OECD, a venerated entity that functions above the fray of American politics, already collects the necessary data. All we need to do is move up the charts.
This goal, both as a process and an accomplishment, would restore American dignity and pride in a world that thinks we're stupid. It would stimulate the economy by increasing the productivity of our labor force. And I believe that parents across the political spectrum would embrace the project. Who doesn't want their children to be the smartest in the world?
President Obama needs to find a goal, immediately, that will unify his 300 million constituents. Some might say that this is impossible in the 21st century; indeed, never has such unity been sustained in our age. If this is true, if today's world is hopelessly fragmented, the President will be replaced in the next election. In order to keep his job, President Obama needs to debunk this grim notion and inspire his country to achieve greatness once again.
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