] I'm worried about my country. I love America. I think
] it's the best country in the world. But I also think
] we're not tending to our sauce. I believe that we are in
] what Shirley Ann Jackson [president of Rensselaer
] Polytechnic Institute] calls a "quiet crisis." If we
] don't change course now and buckle down in a flat world,
] the kind of competition our kids will face will be
] intense and the social implications of not repairing
] things will be enormous.

This is almost a verbatim quote I've said many times and it's true. Education. Health care. Training and support. These are all critical foundation systems that have eroded beyond repair in the US and are now threatening to undermine our entire presence globally. There's nothing worse than being a lazy top dog with a bunch of under dogs vieing for your spot.

] I'm worried about my country. I love America. I think
] it's the best country in the world. But I also think
] we're not tending to our sauce. I believe that we are in
] what Shirley Ann Jackson [president of Rensselaer
] Polytechnic Institute] calls a "quiet crisis." If we
] don't change course now and buckle down in a flat world,
] the kind of competition our kids will face will be
] intense and the social implications of not repairing
] things will be enormous.

This is a great article. I've been meaning to post it once wired placed it online, but Flynn beat me to it. :)

Somebody said to me the other day that the entitlement we need to get rid of is our sense of entitlement.

You can always count on Thomas Friedman for a good turn of phrase.

(Note that if you're actually going to read this article, make sure you start at the beginning ... this URL is for page 2!)