I grew up in a different America. I watched our country race ahead to plant our flag on the moon. Our leadership in science, technology, and engineering made us proud and gave us hope for the future. I also remember the drumbeat narrative about the dysfunctional bureaucracy in the Soviet Union that sacrificed everything in a desperate attempt to win the arms race and ultimately dominate the world. There were stories from every podium and pulpit of long lines in the Evil Empire to buy what little food and poor quality goods made it to store shelves. The only anxiety I remember having for a gleaming future was some lunatic in the Kremlin deciding to put the theory of mutually assured nuclear destruction to the test.
Those memories came back to haunt me as I read a Bloomberg article by James Russell about Europe and Asia racing ahead of America in rail transportation infrastructure ("As U.S. Dithers, China, U.K. Push Ahead on Major Rail Projects"). Instead of a bang, there is only the whimper of Tea Party Republicans.