Great quote from Stephen Flynn

A few years ago I heard a really interesting podcast discussion with Stephen Flynn about the need to strengthen our infrastructure.  I finally got around to getting his book, and was immediately rewarded with this great passage.  From the introduction to The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation,

Coming to grips with perils that can lead to catastrophic consequences is not about living in a perpetual state of fear.  We become fearful only when a sense of imminent danger is coupled with a feeling of powerlessness.  But there is no reason to doubt our ability to confront and manage these risks.  Every American generation has had to confront serious dangers, and they have always passed the test.  While we must be prepared to acknowledge that there are dark clouds on the horizon, it is vital that we not lose sight of our most important and endearing trait:  our sense of optimism about the future and our conviction that we can change it for the better.

Flynn wrote this back when George W Bush was still in office and troops were still dying in Iraq, but it is no less meaningful.  It might be even more meaningful now, looking at the dual tragedies of the Boston Marathon and the Texas fertilizer explosion, or the destruction wrought by Hurricane Sandy.  

We can quantize information of all types as never before.  With that data we can project risk.  It isn't something to be afraid of, nor is it something to ignore.  I think incorporating knowledge of risk, and deciding what warrants action and what does not, is a critical challenge for self government.

HB 2800 (CRC): A letter to my State Representative

Representative [ ],

I'm writing to express my great disappointment with the news that you will support HB 2800, endorsing construction of the Columbia River Crossing.  That highway project will have long term adverse consequences for the district, for the city of Portland and the state of Oregon.  The project benefits you cited are of marginal value:

- Light rail to Vancouver benefits Vancouver, not us.

- As a tool for managing demand tolling is inferior to existing capacity constraints.  Do you really mean to say you support building a new bridge because it will lead to fewer vehicle trips than occur now?  We should embark on the most expensive capital project in Oregon history so that it can provide less than existing service?  Can you look at yourself in the mirror and say the CRC will be a disincentive to suburban sprawl?

- The construction industry will indeed benefit from spending 450 million dollars.  But what does that have to do with the CRC?  $450M would benefit the construction industry just as much if it were spent on seismic upgrades to our schools.  Or on building a better tsunami evacuation system.  Or on rewiring our electrical system to better integrate renewable energy.  Or any number of pressing infrastructure needs that you know better than me.  Why not spend that kind of money on something that brightens our future rather than darkens it?

The supposed conditions you cited for your support are small comfort.  You claim your support was conditional on tolling I-205, and two paragraphs later admit there will be no tolling on I-205.  What stock can we put in those conditions when they don't even last through your email?  Why should we believe you will react tomorrow to what is plainly obvious today?

Supporting HB 2800 while hiding behind conditions you won't or can't enforce is passing the buck.  It puts us in the position of waiting for someone else to do the right thing and pull the plug on this project.  That is not what I sent you to Salem to do.

Stephen Flynn Article

Stephen Flynn has an article in March/April issue of Foreign Affairs. The heart of his argument as I see it:

There is in our culture a tendency to view citizens as nothing more then consumers. Viewing ourselves that way infantilizes us, it renders us helpless when the lights go out. We need to get away from that. After 9/11, the government essentially codified the consumerist view of citizens, promising to take care of everything and keep our lives running as smoothly as a ride at Disney Land. A corollary to that is that we should cede total control to the government and just sit comfortably in our seats.

However, If you look at the actual events of 9/11, you see something striking. To quote Flynn:

it is the story of United Airlines flight 93, the thwarted fourth plane, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field, that ought to be the dominant 9/11 narrative. That plane's passengers foiled al Qaeda without any help from -- and in spite of the inaction of -- the U.S. government. There were no federal air marshals aboard the aircraft. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, could not intercept it; it did not even know that the plane had been hijacked. Yet United 93 was stopped 140 miles from its likely destination -- the U.S. Capitol or the White House -- because of the actions of the passengers who stormed the cockpit...

Americans should celebrate -- and ponder -- the reality that the legislative and executive centers of the U.S. federal government, whose constitutional duty is to "provide for the common defense," were themselves defended that day by one thing alone: an alert and heroic citizenry.

This is the antithesis of the consumerist view: an active and informed citizenry, taking matters into their own hands to shape the outcome. It's often been remarked on that 9/11 was perpetrated by a small number of people with little more then box cutters, it's almost never remarked that their plans were partially foiled by a small number of people with cell phones.

BTW, if you're interested in Flynn's work I recommend this discussion and Q&A podcast at CFR.

Cause and Effect: MN Bridge Collapse

I saw two good columns reflecting on the bridge collapse in Minnesota. Stephen Flynn lays out the numbers on underinvestment in infrastructure in the US. Arnaud de Borchgrave points out the obvious fact that we've been sending tons of money to Iraq that could have been put to use here.