Retrofitting America
Fareed Zakaria, editor-at-large of Time Magazine, in his book, “The Post-American World”, argues that the “rise of the rest is the great story of our time,” that “the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures.” Zakaria states his book is not a book about the decline of America but about the rise of everyone else. This sounds like good news for “the rest” and maybe not so good for nationalistic, ethnocentric America.
To quote one critique on the book: “The biggest challenge for America, Zakaria argues, is not terrorism or nuclear proliferation or a rising China, but rather our own ability to adapt successfully to the new environment. He favors confidence and openness rather than insecurity and barriers, and makes a convincing case.” America “must seek to share power, create coalitions, build legitimacy, and define the global agenda-—all formidable tasks.”
I find a sense of relief in Zakaria’s observations. I feel that our time as the most powerful nation on earth is over and necessarily so. September 11th that gave free reign to perpetual war tipped the scales. The industrial age is certainly over here, as we’ve passed that mantle on to China and India to make our cheap goods. Let the rest create industrial pollution. Maybe it’s time for us to clean our nest, focus inward and reflect on our past, present and future actions. We can no longer afford to be the mightiest nation on earth through our prized war machine, but are we big enough to take the higher road and create a new model?
It is time to “Retrofit America” through rebuilding, redeveloping, renewing and restructuring. With green ingenuity and a vision of sustainability, I can imagine our rising from the ashes like the Phoenix. I can imagine post-industrial America being the model country for “green living”, e.g., clean energy, organic gardens, green medicine, alternative communities. We are being given an opportunity to heal the wounds and work cooperatively and compassionately with a world in rapid change. We can no longer afford political or military might. No less than a spiritual revolution and evolution in consciousness are called for.
To quote one critique on the book: “The biggest challenge for America, Zakaria argues, is not terrorism or nuclear proliferation or a rising China, but rather our own ability to adapt successfully to the new environment. He favors confidence and openness rather than insecurity and barriers, and makes a convincing case.” America “must seek to share power, create coalitions, build legitimacy, and define the global agenda-—all formidable tasks.”
I find a sense of relief in Zakaria’s observations. I feel that our time as the most powerful nation on earth is over and necessarily so. September 11th that gave free reign to perpetual war tipped the scales. The industrial age is certainly over here, as we’ve passed that mantle on to China and India to make our cheap goods. Let the rest create industrial pollution. Maybe it’s time for us to clean our nest, focus inward and reflect on our past, present and future actions. We can no longer afford to be the mightiest nation on earth through our prized war machine, but are we big enough to take the higher road and create a new model?
It is time to “Retrofit America” through rebuilding, redeveloping, renewing and restructuring. With green ingenuity and a vision of sustainability, I can imagine our rising from the ashes like the Phoenix. I can imagine post-industrial America being the model country for “green living”, e.g., clean energy, organic gardens, green medicine, alternative communities. We are being given an opportunity to heal the wounds and work cooperatively and compassionately with a world in rapid change. We can no longer afford political or military might. No less than a spiritual revolution and evolution in consciousness are called for.
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