Editor's note: This is the second in a series of perspectives on the documentary Two Million Minutes.

Concerns about the lack of U.S. competitiveness are often dismissed as fear-mongering designed to promote an unpatriotic agenda. Many American educators, politicians, and pundits are adamant that the sheer number of highly educated and well-trained scientists, engineers, managers, and doctors coming from rapidly developing foreign nations are no cause for alarm. Most of all, we brazenly defend our culture and education system as capable of producing superior, "well-rounded" children more adept at facing challenges than their international peers.

Even as we indulge such tendencies, we wonder why once-mighty American automotive giants, including General Motors (GM) and Ford (F), are struggling, why high-paying science and medical jobs are being outsourced to Bangalore, and why high-tech companies, such as Google (GOOG), Intel (INTC), and Cisco Systems (CS...

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