The US is not doing a great job of looking ahead

Most of the problems and issues we face today are long-term. We cannot solve them in a month, or even a year. Whether it is alternative energy, health-care, or education, we have to look a generation ahead. When medieval people decided to built a cathedral they knew that they would not live to see it completed, yet they did not hesitate. Today, we have a very different attitude. We will waste years discussing something, but if a task will take years, we are loath to undertake it.