2 ms·

Excellent summary. Part of the reason he interstate got built / was such a success was that there was enough goodwill and cohesion in society to see the whole

Excellent summary. Part of the reason he interstate got built / was such a success was that there was enough goodwill and cohesion in society to see the whole thing through. JFK served in his unit alongside guys who hadn’t finished the 9th grade. People trusted each other more than they do today. Even the moon landing and the work of NASA was part of this cohesive society. That being said cohesion requires conformity which has a ton of drawbacks as well, and this eventually fell apart after a Vietnam. Maybe it had to happen but societies move in cycles and some other highly cohesive event will occur, making stuff like this possible again.

joe_the_user 8y ago
That is a way things get built. But even third world countries occasionally achieve success in infrastructure when the powers-that-be realize success will make them far more money than failure. The problem with public transit in the US generally is the process of destroying infrastructure and soaking up money has become standard because freeways and automobile were always an adequate alternative when public transit failed (and it's failed and failed). Now, we have a situation where a lot things dying in the waste of the automobile but the habit of soaking up every bit of transit dollars is very well established. And America's ruling class now resemble a slumlord class - running the entire operation into the ground for maximum profits. Yet confused where to go when things fall to pieces.
ralph84 8y ago
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 has a lot more to do with the current cohesiveness of American society than Vietnam.