Bill Gates vs. Britney Spears

I'm currently reading "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, which is about globalization in the past 15 years or so. It's extremely interesting, and it's been fun to see some connections between what's going on in China and my recent trip there. But reading it has made me a little frightened lately. In talking about the intellectual talent in India and China, Friedman recounts one of Bill Gates' recent trips to China. People were standing on the sides of the street, waiting for him to pass and hoping to catch of glimpse of this great man. Tickets to hear Gates' speech were being scalped - everyone wanted to hear and see Bill Gates. Friedman's response:

"In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears - and that is our problem."

Has America - have us Americans - grown complacent? Granted, we have been a very powerful country (and, arguably, continue to be) over the last 200 years, but other countries are catching up at noticeable speeds. The frightening part is that America is not moving forward. We are stagnant, especially in science, math and technology. According to Friedman, budgest for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute for Science and Technology, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the Department of Defense have all had their budgets cut significantly. On top of that, less and less American students are going into the sciences and engineering, opting instead to go into medicine and law, because that's where the money is made. By contrast, students in India, China, and other Asian countries are filling that void and are outpacing us.

In a nutshell, America is aging out of it's intellectual resources in the sciences. There is no call for students to be inspired - no race to the moon as JFK called for, sparking a renewed interest in science and technology and leaping America forward. America is lacking ambition, education and desire. We are undergoing a quiet epidemic.

I realize there are a lot of epidemics going on right now in our country that need our attention - obesity, the environment, medical care, and now this. But I think all of these epidemics can be cured with one thing - education. America is not investing in education, and we need to do something today in order for effects to be felt years from now. It's scary to think what could happen to this country (a slow and steady decline?) if our politicians and our government doesn't start to invest in education, in science and technology, in amibition. It won't be long before other countries, like India and China, begin to overtake us as a superpower. In fact, it may have already begun.