Friedman’s Silver Lining

In his column, "Time to Reboot America," Thomas Friedman wonders at the policies and mindsets that have led to the USA’s current condition (well, what else do you expect him to do?). He ends a rather discouraging comparison of his recent experiences with Hong Kong’s infrastructure—its transport system, its wireless access, and so on—with a reminder that, despite the current domestic mess, it wouldn’t be wise to write the USA off yet:

America still has the right stuff to thrive. We still have the most creative, diverse, innovative culture and open society — in a world where the ability to imagine and generate new ideas with speed and to implement them through global collaboration is the most important competitive advantage. China may have great airports, but last week it went back to censoring The New York Times and other Western news sites. Censorship restricts your people’s imaginations. That’s really, really dumb. And that’s why for all our missteps, the 21st century is still up for grabs.

Yup.