The Selfish Man Who Pokes His Own Eye Condemns Others For Living In the Dark

Fools think that if the world is clamoring for “stuff”—Iphones, cars, CDs, soft drinks, fast food, retail, etc.—that that is a sign of prosperity.  We might have the largest aerospace company (Boeing), the largest biotech (Amgen), largest retail (Walmart), largest petrol (Exxon), largest software (Microsoft), comm equipment (Sisco), and heavy equipment (Caterpillar), but what does that mean, and is it always an advantage for the country?

We do have universally appealing attributes of pluralism, economic opportunity, and cultural openness, but much of that has become brittle or façade-like anymore.  The asymmetric threats we presently face might not be existential ones, but if they sniff our weaknesses, we are more vulnerable than thought.

Because while the medieval, unmodern, unconnected chauvinist power mongers of the terrorist world may be off base, so are we.  They can be wrong, but not all the way wrong.  And we can be overall “right,” but with enough wrong that we give power and motivation to our enemies, and self-weaken what should be our strengths. 

Fix ourselves, and we will go far in dissolving the drive, power, and allure of those terrorist organizations.