The iPhone and American pride

Later today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take his usual place on stage at the software company's annual conference and, if rumors are true, unveil the latest iteration of his masterpiece — the iPhone. Oh, this isn't just a new 2010 version of last year's model. No, sir, this is the 4G iPhone, full of technology and teeming with promise to turn yet another corner in cell phone advancement.

It's hard to imagine that just three and a half years ago, Jobs was on stage revealing Apple's first generation of the iPhone — technology that would propel Apple to the highest echelons of the gadget universe, leaving its competitors in the proverbial dust. Jobs and the entire company should be proud of their accomplishments. If past is prologue, this is only the beginning. Apple strives to stay on the cutting edge of development. You can't teach that sort of commitment, and you certainly cannot mandate it through a government program.

That's what I'm most impressed with. At a time when there are scores of reasons to be down about America — when there just doesn't seem to be anything we're "good" at anymore — it's clear the U.S. remains the world's top superpower in technology.

We led in the Industrial Revolution, and if the left doesn't hijack it, we will continue to lead the technology revolution. Imagine what that can mean for our children in today's schools, or in workforce training, and perhaps most importantly, in protecting our nation from a World War 2.0 through the continuing, escalating threats of cyber security. Countries like China have opened a new front against the U.S., where attacks cross oceans in mere seconds. With whizzes such as Jobs on the case, Americans sleep a little better at night.

Sure, the iPhone won't protect our nation's critical infrastructures while allowing us to order a pizza, but it's what it symbolizes that matters most. If America can continue to lead the world in technology, that's something to be proud of.


Williams can be heard nightly M-F, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. on Sirius/XM Power 169.