Choose a Destination
When we hear of government looking to the future, we think of investing in infrastructure, technology, health, energy, and the environment. A government might develop mass transit systems, spur alternative energy research, or grant tax breaks and other incentives to attract industry.
However, these activities only prepare a nation for the future. They do not determine it. A nation chooses its future only when it sets goals and inspires its citizens to achieve them. Yet, what are America's goals? What is our 5-year plan? Where do we hope to be in 20 years?
Every successful corporation knows the value of setting goals and inspiring employees to achieve them. In contrast, the two major parties and their politicians are too busy calling each other names to make a plan and encourage citizens to cooperate.
If we travel long enough without a destination, we will end up at a place where we don't want to be (see the "Five Laws that Govern the Way Nations Evolve" — Chapter 13 in A More Perfect Union). Just as if we left the house blindfolded and took lefts and rights at random, a journey without a destination and a map will eventually take us to the edge of a cliff.
The same is true of a country. If a country does not know where it is going, how is it to get there? As Americans, we have yet to decide officially the kind of country we want for the future. What should America look like ten years from now; fifty years from now? What should be America's ideal personality and proper role in the world? Do we care if America remains a superpower? Would America be better off to become just an average nation?