America, Basketball and Globalization
I went to bed a little early just so I could wake up in the middle of the night to watch my beloved USA basketball team featuring NBA superstars Lebron James and Kobe Bryant squeak by Spain in the Gold medal game. It was the first victory for the USA in major international competition since the Sydney Olympics in 2002. Basketball powerhouses like Spain, Greece and Argentina were well represented with their own NBA stars as were all other countries.
In the 1992 Barcelona games, The "Dream Team" comprised of "Majic" Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird steamrolled the competition with an average victory margin of over 35 points. Since then the world has caught up to the USA. They learned the game from American coaches via clinics, developed their own professional leagues and as a result sent several dozen more players to the NBA and top US colleges over the past 15 years. In 1992 there were 21 foreign born NBA players, in the 2007-08 season there were over 70! The fact that the US was defeated by Argentina in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and by Greece in the 2006 world championships was our own fault-we taught them how to beat us. As I think about it, this applies to other areas as well. The world uses the United States as a classroom where they learn how to compete with us in just about every area.
Peruse through the Forbes magazine's list of billionaires and one will see that many were educated at American Universities. The current leaders of Liberia and Taiwan were educated at Harvard. Many of the financiers who are snapping up large US assets were also educated here, such as Saudi Prince Alwaleed at Menlo College in San Francisco, and Chinese Investor GaoXiqing at Duke. Many of the worlds wealthy continue to send their children to study business and politics at elite US colleges, who then return home to start companies and/or enter government. One can't help but notice the emergence of China, India as fast rising economic powers. The tiny sheikdom of Dubai has not only established itself as a global financial and tourist hub but also as a powerful global investor. Through its many government owned investment firms, Dubai has invested over $2bn in US assets, financed largely through profits from oil sales. These firms, Dubai World and Dubai International Capital have several directors who are US educated.
What does this mean? For all the "the world hates us" rhetoric, the world has more respect for our way of life than hate. Talk show host Dennis Prager says "the world doesn't hate us, the left hates us". The United States has directly and indirectly created more wealth and opportunity for others than any country in the world. The business and political leaders from around the world recognize this and study our system very intently. Why is the value and opportunity of our way of life lost on so many American born citizens? According to a Pew research study, first and second generation black immigrants make up the majority of students and Ivy league colleges. It seems that the majority of the criticism of the US system comes from the American left. Funny, the system seems to be working just fine for the rest of the world.
In the 1992 Barcelona games, The "Dream Team" comprised of "Majic" Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Larry Bird steamrolled the competition with an average victory margin of over 35 points. Since then the world has caught up to the USA. They learned the game from American coaches via clinics, developed their own professional leagues and as a result sent several dozen more players to the NBA and top US colleges over the past 15 years. In 1992 there were 21 foreign born NBA players, in the 2007-08 season there were over 70! The fact that the US was defeated by Argentina in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and by Greece in the 2006 world championships was our own fault-we taught them how to beat us. As I think about it, this applies to other areas as well. The world uses the United States as a classroom where they learn how to compete with us in just about every area.
Peruse through the Forbes magazine's list of billionaires and one will see that many were educated at American Universities. The current leaders of Liberia and Taiwan were educated at Harvard. Many of the financiers who are snapping up large US assets were also educated here, such as Saudi Prince Alwaleed at Menlo College in San Francisco, and Chinese Investor GaoXiqing at Duke. Many of the worlds wealthy continue to send their children to study business and politics at elite US colleges, who then return home to start companies and/or enter government. One can't help but notice the emergence of China, India as fast rising economic powers. The tiny sheikdom of Dubai has not only established itself as a global financial and tourist hub but also as a powerful global investor. Through its many government owned investment firms, Dubai has invested over $2bn in US assets, financed largely through profits from oil sales. These firms, Dubai World and Dubai International Capital have several directors who are US educated.
What does this mean? For all the "the world hates us" rhetoric, the world has more respect for our way of life than hate. Talk show host Dennis Prager says "the world doesn't hate us, the left hates us". The United States has directly and indirectly created more wealth and opportunity for others than any country in the world. The business and political leaders from around the world recognize this and study our system very intently. Why is the value and opportunity of our way of life lost on so many American born citizens? According to a Pew research study, first and second generation black immigrants make up the majority of students and Ivy league colleges. It seems that the majority of the criticism of the US system comes from the American left. Funny, the system seems to be working just fine for the rest of the world.
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