America is interested in change and reform in the Middle East but in a stable way. Thomas Friedman More Quotes by Thomas Friedman More Quotes From Thomas Friedman Remember, in China when you are one in a million, there are 1,300 other people just like you. Thomas Friedman humor funny people The Arab awakening was like watching elephants fly: something you didn't expect, something you haven't seen before, "Wow, elephants fly." Thomas Friedman wow elephants awakening The ideal country in a flat world is the one with no natural resources, because countries with no natural resources tend to dig inside themselves. They try to tap the energy, entrepreneurship, creativity, and intelligence of their own people-men and women-rather than drill an oil well. Thomas Friedman creativity men country I would say that in 2000, we understand as much about how today's system of globalization is going to work as we understood about how the Cold War system was going to work in 1946. Thomas Friedman cold today war A vision without resources is an hallucination. Thomas Friedman hallucinations vision success When widely followed public figures feel free to say anything, without any fact-checking, it becomes impossible for a democracy to think intelligently about big issues. Thomas Friedman issues democracy thinking I was in Bangalore, India, the Silicon Valley of India, when I realized that the world was flat. Thomas Friedman valleys india world Until we fully understand what turned two brothers who allegedly perpetrated the Boston Marathon bombings into murderers, it is hard to make any policy recommendation other than this: We need to redouble our efforts to make America stronger and healthier so it remains a vibrant counterexample to whatever bigoted ideology may have gripped these young men....And the best place to start is with a carbon tax. Thomas Friedman boston brother men We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules and preserve our open society as if there were no terrorists. Thomas Friedman terrorist preserves fighting The hidden hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist -- McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas, the builder of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley's technologies is called the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Thomas Friedman marine army technology The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention argues that no two countries that are both part of the same global supply chain will ever fight a war as long as they are each part of that supply chain. Thomas Friedman fighting war country I have a daughter who is a sophomore in college and another who is in the 11th grade of high school. Thomas Friedman daughter mother school If e-mail had been around before the telephone was invented, people would have said, 'Hey, forget e-mail! With this new telephone invention I can actually talk to people!'. Thomas Friedman service-culture hey people Iraq may still have a decent outcome...but even if it becomes Switzerland, we overpaid for it. Thomas Friedman switzerland iraq may What if we're wrong and there is no climate change? Well, by doing everything possible to address it, we will still use less water, stimulate new energy savings and, in time, money-saving technologies, enjoy cleaner air, and preserve more forests and trees and animals. Thomas Friedman technology animal water In a hyper-connected world where average is over, there is one thing we know absolutely for sure: Every good job will require more education. Thomas Friedman average jobs world If we don't have a more serious energy policy, the difference between a good day and bad day for America from here on will hinge on how the 86-year-old king of Saudi Arabia manages...change. Thomas Friedman good-day bad-day kings Communism was a great system for making people equally poor - in fact, there was no better system in the world for that than communism. Capitalism made people unequally rich. Thomas Friedman facts people world So what am I? I guess I would call myself a sober optimist...If you are not sober about the scale of the challenge, then you are not paying attention. But if you are not an optimist, you have no chance of generating the kind of mass movement needed to achieve the needed scale. Thomas Friedman movement challenges attention Optimists are usually wrong. But all the great change in history, positive change, was done by optimists. Thomas Friedman positive-change optimist done
