Hernando Today
Time To Stop Complaining And Start Doing
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Published: July 5, 2008
We are facing difficult times with gas prices rising nearly every day, the stock market falling precipitously, food prices rising, floods and tornados in the heartland and other disasters.
Far too many Americans are wringing their hands and looking for some type of miracle to come to the rescue. We have confronted challenges in the past and overcame all of them. When Pearl Harbor was suddenly attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, thousands of our military personnel were casualties. We lost a large portion of our Navy, but we built more ships, created a huge military force, armed England and Russia and in four and a half years defeated Japan, Germany and Italy.
In the early part of the war, Germany seemed invincible in Europe, and Japan seemed much the same in the Pacific. Our first naval engagement in the Pacific was at Coral Sea. Although it was a draw, we had finally stopped the Japanese. Our fleet was still in its infancy and we needed every ship, especially the carriers. One of them limped into Pearl Harbor with extensive damage that would normally take six months to repair. Time was of the essence, and it was ready for sea in 72 hours. Work around the clock by dedicated people caused that.
Following that war, we rebuilt Europe and Japan and created the greatest industrial base in the world's history. That was accomplished while facing a nuclear threat from the Soviet Union. The American people did that.
We built the Hoover Dam without the assistance of computers during the Depression and, even today, it is a marvel. That was completed ahead of schedule. We built the Empire State building in 13 months.
After the Los Angeles earthquake in 1994, many of the highways and bridges were destroyed. Placing contracts for jobs of that magnitude generally took 18 to 24 months, and yet it was costing a million dollars a day in business losses. Gov. Pete Wilson waived all the multitudinous regulations for state contracts and selected five companies to bid on rebuilding the key road - the Santa Monica Freeway. The goal was to do it as rapidly as possible - 140 days. To create incentive, the company was told that it would be fined $200,000 for every day that it was late, and it would receive a bonus for every day that it was early. The job was done in 66 days and the company almost made as much in bonuses as the regular contract. That is what happens when Americans are cut loose.
We are facing a difficult problem, and it is time for the president and Congress to act. The world is convinced that we will not drill for our own oil, build nuclear power plants or do anything else that will assist us in this current situation.
Those people are wrong.
When Hannibal fought the Romans in the Second Punic War, he stated. "We will either find a way or make one." One may recall that he crossed the Alps with his army and defeated the Romans.
It is time - in fact, it is overdue - for our elected officials to turn this great country loose. Whatever regulations that must be ignored or changed - do it. If it means that we will initially have some undesired pollution or other side effects, we will take care of them later.
When the world sees that we are absolutely serious about becoming energy independent, then things will change. Challenges are to be met, not feared, and we have always met any challenge facing us in the past.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated, "The only realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today."
Donald J. Myers, a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, is a regular columnist for Hernando Today. He lives in Spring Hill and can be contacted at DMyersUSMC@aol.com.
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