Staff Reports
In the days when America flexed its engineering prowess, we built wonders like the Panama Canal and the Empire State Building in record time. These triumphs of human ambition and ingenuity weren’t merely about brick and mortar. They were statements, bold declarations that America was a nation that dared to dream big and achieve the unimaginable. The achievement was not just in the tangible structures but in the audacity to believe in something greater than ourselves—a sentiment that seems to be waning.
Today, we find ourselves asking why China seems to be the one leading these monumental projects, like their newly completed world’s tallest bridge, which not only cuts a two-hour drive down to two minutes. It’s quite a spectacle, an engineering feat accomplished in under four years. Meanwhile, here in the United States, even minor infrastructure repairs become epic struggles bogged down in years of bureaucratic stalling. Just ask Baltimore and its Key Bridge, which has been undergoing significant reconstruction efforts after its collapse in March 2024.
This decay in American initiative isn’t just a logistical failure; it’s symptomatic of a deeper cultural shift. Once, the red tape existed to facilitate progress rather than hinder it. Flipping the script on paperwork and permits, we now have a system that seems to prioritize procedure over progress, where the adventurous spirit is sedated by endless regulations. Bureaucrats seem to exist to perpetuate their own agendas, not to pave the way for greatness. What happened to the days when Americans embraced the risks of progress, when we understood that great achievements sometimes demand great sacrifices?
It’s not just red tape; it’s a dwindling of our collective will to strive for greatness. It’s the idea that we can’t achieve monumental tasks without certain conveniences, despite our ancestors having built marvels with nothing but grit and raw determination. Our reliance on improperly managed resources rather than nurturing homegrown expertise is a symptom of this malaise. It’s a sad commentary that, today, we often don’t see the desire to do something just because it’s grand and transformative.
To make America great again, we need to rediscover that burning desire to perform truly amazing feats simply because they are amazing. It’s not about utility alone; it’s about reigniting a national spirit that takes pride in challenging the impossible and, inevitably, achieving it. Whether it’s exploring space or embarking on audacious infrastructure projects, America needs to remember its heritage of boldness, to once again ask not what’s possible but what’s impossible—and then to do it anyway. It’s time to foster a culture that demands greatness, because only in doing so can we return to being a nation that leads the world in awe-inspiring achievements.
