re: #89 Robert O.

An interesting point of reference is to look across the Pacific. 50 years ago, the Chinese were busy destroying their national heritage when they had a madman in power who started the Cultural Revolution. In the last 40 years, what we have seen is that as China rises, not only are they content with matching the West in GDP and living standards, but in recent recent years, China’s government has poured billions into scientific research (with the aim of overtaking us), and they are vigorously promoting arts and culture (and exporting their values overseas), knowing full well that these are the things that actually define a great civilization,. And they just seem so determined in their quest to rebuild their ancient empire back to its rightful place in history.

I actually discussed this with a friend just the other day. China boasts several thousand years’ worth of history and culture, and has always been among the dominant world powers, if not THE most dominant world power for a good chunk of that time. The Chinese may very well be on their way back to reclaim that top spot by taking advantage of America’s relative weakness.

Being Chinese-American, I feel like I’m in a tight spot.