Chuck Grassley: “in his bestselling book, ``The World is Flat,'' Thomas Friedman discusses the challenges of globalism using the metaphor…”

“in his bestselling book, ``The World is Flat,'' Thomas Friedman discusses the challenges of globalism using the metaphor of the world getting flatter to describe how the breaking down of international barriers to the movement of goods, services, people, and ideas creates an intensely competitive global environment. I liked it so much, and it has so much wisdom in it. In chapter 8, entitled ``This Is Not a Test,'' Friedman says, ``If this moment has any parallel in American history, it is the height of the cold war, around 1957, when the Soviet Union leaped ahead of America in the space race by putting up the Sputnik satellite.'' Not coincidentally, the Congress passed the National Defense Education Act the following year, 1958. That act really started Federal Government involvement in education. It was designed primarily to jumpstart education in math, science, and modern foreign languages so we would be able to match and exceed the achievements of the Soviets and win the cold war. According to Thomas Friedman, to meet the challenges of what he calls ``flatism'' will require, ``as comprehensive, energetic, and focused a response as did meeting the challenge of communism.''”