Change

I was recently asked what I would say to our next president were I to sit down with him. What change would I request him to make? I didn't know where to start. There are many changes that I would like to see made in the ruling of our country. But if I had to pick one, I would recommend that our next president begin to reevaluate where our funding is being appropriated, and begin working towards more global interdependence.
I believe that in our country our funds are being improperly used. Billions of dollars are wasted on pet projects and pork barrel spending, and huge benefits are being given to greedy corporations. Scientists are often given goals to meet, but are not allocated appropriate funds. They are then criticized for failing to meet their goals. We live in a constantly changing world, and we need to continue our legacy of being at the forefront of scientific progress and global relations. Our government needs to reevaluate what they are doing with our hard-earned tax dollars.
As a continuation of my first point, I think that the future administration should take much of the improperly placed funding and put it towards projects that assert our position as a positive world leader. Throughout the centuries, mankind has grown closer and closer together. From individuals in Mesopotamia, to nomadic tribes, to city-states, to kingdoms, to empires, to countries we have continued to come together. The next obvious step is for global interdependence to progress. The world needs a strong country to step forward and take the first step, and the United States is an obvious choice. With a joint global effort, the United States can dedicate its resources to finding the solutions to global problems. We need to place a bigger emphasis on fighting global warming, finding cleaner energy sources, and space exploration. This last topic is one that is not being researched as much as is necessary. Mankind has the potential to destroy itself and make our home planet uninhabitable. Even if this does not happen, our universe is an unpredictable entity that we do not fully understand. We need to ensure the survival of mankind, and must begin researching the colonization of other planets, for the continued existence of human beings.
Our government has lost its way in recent years. Too much time and energy is taken up by partisan bickering, and we lost what our founding fathers set out to create; a reasonable governing body. Our next president needs to transcend party differences, sensibly allocate our spending, and make the United States a frontrunner in global politics and science.