When I look at this photo, I think about past America. I look at the cars and think, “Henry Ford”. I look at the skyscrapers and think, “Chicago”. I think about the camera that took the photo and I think, “George Eastman”.
A moment later, I am reminded of the substance which allows a country like the UAE to enjoy the spoils of our freedom. The substance that powers our country; the substance that should no longer power our country, but will continue to, because our country has lost the capacity to innovate.
Present America is a bureaucracy. Our corporations and our government function as a single entity, asphyxiating us. Almost nobody can get anything done. We have lost our means of pursuing happiness.
There is a tiny exception to this rule. The Entrepreneurs. The men and women who look America in the eye and say, “No! Like this.”
here’s the thing: in the current geopolitical climate, it feels easy and safe to blame arab nations for just about everything. dubai is prospering because it had the sense to diversify its economy and is now a leader in global banking and shipping. if anything, the us should be looking to the uae for model solutions-they’ve managed to survive and vanquish the “dutch disease”.
if you want to complain about us oil-dependency (which i assume is the substance referred to), you’d do better to blame canada, which is the leading exporter of crude oil to the united states. in fact, if you look into it, only three of the top 15 countries the us imports oil from are in the middle east, and none of them are the uae.
countries that are learning to live and prosper beyond oil are innovative. they should be congratulated, not criticized.
