New York Times Op-Ed article 5/23/07

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ThomasFriedmanisoneofthemostrespectedcolumnistfortherNewYorkTimes. HisobservationsontheUSandontheworldhasturnedintoatleasttwobestsellers (.e.g."TheWorldisFlat"2004whichIthinkhasbeentranslatedintoChinese). Today5/23/07hehasacolumnwhichmyChinesesciencenetreadersshouldread. SinceNYTimesisnotalwaysavaliablethroughthewwwinChinaandthefacthiscolumn isavaliableonlyviasubscription,Itookthelibertyofreproducinghiscolumnbelow: OP-EDCOLUMNIST LaughingandCrying ByTHOMASL.FRIEDMAN Published:May23,2007 FirstIhadtolaugh.ThenIhadtocry. ItookpartincommencementthisyearatRensselaerPolytechnic Institute,oneofAmerica'sgreatscienceandengineeringschools, soIhadafront-rowseatasthefirstgradstoreceivetheir diplomascameonstage,allofthemPh.D.students.Onebyone theannouncerreadtheirnamesandeachwashandedtheir doctorate—inbiotechnology,computing,physicsand engineering—bytheschool'spresident,ShirleyAnnJackson. ThereasonIhadtolaughwasbecauseitseemedlikeeveryoneof thenewlymintedPh.D.'satRensselaerwasforeignborn.Fora moment,astheforeignnameskeptcoming—"HongLu,XuXie, TaoYuan,FuTang"—Ithoughtthattheentireclassofdoctoral studentsinphysicsweregoingtobeChinese,until"PaulShane Morrow"savedtheday.Itwassuchacaricatureofwhat PresidentJacksonherselfcalls"thequietcrisis"inhigh-end scienceeducationinthiscountrythatyoucouldonlylaugh. Don'tgetmewrong.I'mproudthatourcountrycontinuesto builduniversitiesandacultureoflearningthatattractthe world'sbestminds.Mycomplaint—whyIalsowantedtocry— wasthattherewasn'tsomeonefromtheImmigrationand NaturalizationServicestandingnexttoPresidentJackson staplinggreencardstothediplomasofeachoftheseforeign- bornPh.D.'s.Iwantthemalltostay,becomeAmericansanddo theirresearchandinnovationhere.Ifwecan'teducateenoughof ourownkidstocompeteatthislevel,we'dbettermakesurewe canimportsomeoneelse's,otherwisewewillnotmaintainour standardofliving. ItispureidiocythatCongresswillnotopenourborders—as wideaspossible—toattractandkeeptheworld'sfirst-round intellectualdraftchoicesinanagewheneveryoneincreasingly hasthesameinnovationtoolsandthekeydifferentiatoris humantalent.I'mserious.Ithinkanyforeignstudentwhogetsa Ph.D.inourcountry—inanysubject—shouldbeoffered citizenship.Iwantthem.Theideathatweactuallymakeit difficultforthemtostayiscrazy. CompeteAmerica,acoalitionoftechnologycompanies,is pleadingwithCongresstoboostboththenumberofH-1Bvisas availabletocompaniesthatwanttobringinskilledforeign workersandthenumberofemployment-basedgreencardsgiven tohigh-techforeignworkerswhowanttostayhere.Givethemall theywant!Notonlydoourcompaniesneedthemnow,because we'renottrainingenoughengineers,buttheywill,overtime, startmanymorecompaniesandcreatemanymoregoodjobs thantheywouldpossiblydisplace.SiliconValleyislivingproofof that—andwhereinnovationhappensmatters.It'sstillwherethe bestjobswillbelocated. Folks,wecan'tkeepbeingstupidaboutthesethings.Youcan't haveaworldwhereforeign-bornstudentsdominateyourscience graduateschools,researchlabs,journalpublicationsandcan nowmoreeasilythanevergobacktotheirhomecountriesto startcompanies—withoutiteventuallyimpactingourstandard ofliving—especiallywhenwe'realsoslippingbehindinhigh- speedInternetpenetrationpercapita.Americahasfallenfrom fourthintheworldin2001to15thtoday. MyhatisofftoAndrewRasiejandMicahSifry,co-foundersof thePersonalDemocracyForum.Theyaretryingtomakethisan issueinthepresidentialcampaignbycreatingamovementto demandthatcandidatesfocusonourdigitaldeficitsanddivides. (See:http://www.techpresident.com.)Mr.Rasiej,who unsuccessfullyranforpublicadvocateofNewYorkCityin2005 onaplatformcallingforlow-costwirelessaccesseverywhere, notesthat"onlyhalfofAmericahasbroadbandaccesstothe Internet."Weneedtogofrom"NoChildLeftBehind,"hesays,to "EveryChildConnected." Here'sthesadtruth:9/11,andthefailingIraqwar,havesucked upalmostalltheoxygeninthiscountry—oxygenneededto discussseriouslyeducation,healthcare,climatechangeand competitiveness,notesGarrettGraff,aneditoratWashingtonian Magazineandauthoroftheupcomingbook"TheFirst Campaign,"whichdealswiththistheme.Sorightnow,it's mostlygovernorstalkingabouttheseissues,notedMr.Graff,but thereisonlysomuchtheycandowithoutWashingtonbeing focusedandleading. Whichiswhywe'vegottobringouroccupationofIraqtoanend inthequickest,leastbadwaypossible—otherwisewearegoing toloseIraqandAmerica.It'scomingdowntothatchoice.