Imitation is (Still) the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Nice pep talk from Thomas L. Friedman in his column today:
Everything the Russians should want from us ” the true source of our strength ” doesn’t require a sleeper cell to penetrate. All it requires is a tourist guide to Washington, D.C., which you can buy for under $10. Most of it’s in the National Archives: the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. And the rest is in our culture and can be found everywhere from Silicon Valley to Route 128 near Boston. It is a commitment to individual freedom, free markets, rule of law, great research universities and a culture that celebrates immigrants and innovators.
–Thomas Friedman, “The Spies Who Loved Us” (The NY Times, 7/14/2010)
My only quibble: supposedly the world’s most enlightened constitution was the former Soviet Union’s, even as Stalin sent millions to die in gulags.