I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while. I saw this article in the NY Times back in April, and it really got me thinking.

What struck me the most was this quote:

“Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that.”

It sounds very familiar to this quote:

“I believe that this nation should commit itself, to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” JFK

When people, teams, companies or countries make bold commitments like these, things happen. Our country is in tumultuous times. We need another bold commitment. Despite the good efforts of many, we are terribly inflicted with partisanship and bureaucracy. I feel we are skating to where the puck is, not to where it is going. We are consumed with protecting big dying companies, curbing immigration and stabilizing the markets we’ve forgotten how to look ahead.

I’d like to see us pick up our heads and make a new bold commitment. I’d like to see us make the sacrifices required today to win tomorrow. I fear that if we don’t we will eventually pull our heads out of the sand just in time to buy a fantastic new electric car from China and run it on wonderfully clean energy from Europe.

We have the talent. We have the skill. We have the capability to commit to another bold effort. Do we have the guts?