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Americans like to think there is something about their culture that’s especially conducive to innovation—the open geography and frontier spirit; a flexible economy with limited interference by government; the Protestant work ethic; an immigrant workforce, constantly renewed by the next generation of talent from around the world. Other countries can perhaps emulate some of these traits, but none can replicate the creative cocktail that is America.

That might be true today. But could it be that American achievements reflect the past more than predicting the future? It’s important to remember that many of the metrics that place the United States so far ahead are actually lagging indicators. Nobel Prizes tend to be given to scientists in their 70s, toward the end of their productive lives. What’s happening among scientists in their 30s? Who’s making the discoveries today that will receive Nobel Prizes four decades from now?

Have the ads for the disaster porn movie “2012” worked you to a tizzy? Are you wandering around the house, fretting about the Mayan calendar? Are you hoarding tin foil, constructing not just hats, but entire suits, including wee little ones for the 14 cats you own? If so, you’re a nutball.

And that’s why the rest of us are all thankful that the government is ready to respond to all citizens, sane and insane alike.