BillLawrenceOnline

The great ship moved silently through the water, knifing the
jet-black Caribbean Sea as it approached Panama. As dawn broke and the
fog lifted, it finally appeared, in all its glory: The massive Gatun
locks of the Panama Canal, lifting ships 1,000 feet long and 90,000 tons
85 feet above sea level to a water bridge crossing the Continental
Divide and connecting the Pacific. The 50-mile canal, separating two
continents but uniting the world, shaves a whopping 8,000 miles off a
run from New York to San Francisco. A dream that goes as far back as
Columbus undisputedly stands as one of the greatest achievements of in
all of human history.

Yet it almost never came to be, as centuries’ worth of attempts to
construct a path between the seas all resulted in disaster due to
ineptitude, disease and the deaths of more than 30,000 workers.

So what changed? Who found success where others had failed? How were
seemingly impossible obstacles, literal and otherwise, bulldozed on the
path to victory?

Easy. The United States got involved.

As we look back from this 100th year anniversary of the canal, it’s
abundantly clear that “America” was synonymous with “greatness” at that
point in history. The country was alive and vibrant, forging ahead with
bold ideas carried to fruition by bold leaders. Men like Teddy
Roosevelt, who innately understood what was in America’s strategic
interests and pursued those initiatives with a gusto that made success a
foregone conclusion. Failure simply wasn’t in the lexicon.

How things have changed. The nation that once valued decisiveness
over impotence, and risk over fear, somehow morphed into a timid,
risk-averse politically correct shell of its former glory that too often
tries to be all things to all people — so long as those people aren’t
its own citizens.

And there is no better example of that warped mindset than the
giveaway of the Panama Canal. While seeing the canal makes one gape in
sheer awe, it also evokes a fury, a constant “what were we thinking?”
refrain, reinforcing a notion that our nation is in decline, entirely of
our own making.

An outline of the canal’s history seems too far-fetched to be true,
as it defies the common sense expected of the world’s most powerful
nation:

» Thousands die trying to connect the oceans. Project declared impossible.

» America defies the odds by constructing canal ahead of schedule and under budget.

» America saves countless lives by eradicating yellow fever and
discovering the cause of, and thus controlling, the region’s ultimate
killer: Malaria.

» America operates canal not for profit but to facilitate
international commerce, even for those not trading with the United
States.

» America, despite its 85 years of flawless operation, freely gives
the canal to Panama in exchange for absolutely nothing, netting a zero
return on investment.

» American ships now pay massively increased fees (passed on to
American consumers) while Panama laughs all the way to the bank.

» Despite the giveaway, America continues to guarantee Panama’s security in perpetuity, with no benefit to the U.S.

If this story weren’t so tragic, it would be a comic, because giving
away the canal made America’s strategic vision a complete joke.

President Jimmy Carter negotiated and signed the 1977 treaty giving
away the canal (which took effect in 1999). The list of American
giveaways is substantial: The canal itself, the huge Gatun Lakes dam,
the hydroelectric plant, the isthmus-wide railroad, and the 10-mile wide
Panama Canal zone, with all its infrastructure. Rubbing salt in the
wound, even Titan, one of America’s largest cranes (war booty from
Hitler’s Germany) was given to the Panamanians in 1999 after 50 years of
operation in Long Beach, Calif. All invalidate the blood, sweat and
yes, deaths, of the Americans who worked so proudly on the canal.

Perhaps most startling, no consideration was given to America for all
it had done, despite it being the largest user, by far, of the canal.
Virtually all the new equipment, from the “mule” trains that guide the
ships to the massive steel doors going into the enlarged locks now under
construction, is made everywhere but America.

Five other nations are involved in the construction of the new locks,
but America is not one of them. And yet that consortium has already
experienced money problems, labor disputes and cost overruns for the $5
billion project, whereas we spend that amount every 12 hours. Nor does
America manage the large ports on either side of the canal. Instead,
that honor goes to China. Naturally.

Not only does Panama rake in $2 billion annually from its fees, but
it doesn’t spend a penny on an army, because thanks to Uncle Sam, it
doesn’t have one. So if Nicaragua becomes belligerent, American men and
women will fight and die solely for Panama’s sake. Help me out on that
one.

Some may ask, “Nice history lesson, but why bring it up now? What’s done is done.”

Wrong, for two reasons:

1. While the treaty won’t be scrapped,
America could clearly exact concessions from Panama to benefit American
shippers and consumers. Our ships, at a minimum, should receive a
substantial discount for passage (the Colombian Navy passes for free. Go
figure). Those savings would make our products and companies more
competitive, and keep jobs in America. If Panama resists, the protection
deal could be immediately revoked along with all other foreign aid to
Panama. No third-world country should be dictating to America,
especially one in our own backyard.

2. Infinitely more important, it should be a wake-up call to stop
engaging in one-sided deals that only hurt America. The Panama giveaway
is not an isolated incident, but a mindset that persists to this day.

Both parties are complicit, but it is we the people who are
ultimately to blame, as we no longer demand excellence and strategic
vision from our leaders. Instead, mediocrity with no eye to the future
rules the day, and with it, a lingering pessimism that seems destined to
be with us until a leader like Teddy Roosevelt emerges. Someone who, in
Teddy’s words, “is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust
and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly … who spends himself in a
worthy cause … so that his place shall never be with those cold and
timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Let’s re-read our history, learn from our mistakes and regain the greatness that is uniquely American.

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