Congress makes a mess
continued from page 3

empires. They too shifted away from the making of real things and to the juggling of piles of money to make more money, as if their physical and spiritual vigor were spent.

Fareed Zakaria, in his book The Post American World, also published in 2008, is not as gloomy as Phillips. He sees a lessened American role, not as a result of American collapse, but from “a rise of the rest” — economic growth coming from all over the world to compete with us and demand a greater share of the pie. As our economic and political hegemony end, so will our mythic role as the “shining city on the hill.” This is surely happening now and will continue to happen. How well we adapt to no longer running the show, to giving up the conceit of American exceptionalism and moral superiority, is vital to how well we will adapt to a lesser role in a changed future.

In the face of these enormous, inevitable changes, Congress could at least try to help ease the country through the painful present and the even greater changes coming. Instead, Congress continues to mess in the sandbox. Why do they do it?

Norman Brown of Springfield is a structural engineer who owns and operates a local consulting engineering firm. Contact him at [email protected].