Crisis of Confidence
I’m old enough to have been a driver (albeit a young one) the last time we had a “real” gas crisis (the one where the issue was not being able to buy gas, not just being able to afford to buy gas). I can still remember the national sense of frustration when a bunch of crackpots in Iran held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days; the concerns when the USSR, using language startlingly similar to that employed during the recent invasion of Georgia, strolled into Afghanistan—and, yes, I can still remember what a “real” recession felt like (the one where we actually had a 5% drop in GDP). I also remember the “response” of our leaders in Washington at the time. Now, it’s easy to sit on the sidelines and judge those who actually have to make the tough decisions, but I think it’s fair to say that a common sentiment was that we were “getting what we deserved.” America had too long strutted the world stage imposing its values on others, some said—this was just the ghosts of Vietnam and Watergate...