26 July, Action-Man, Shanghai

Tonight, Drew and I skyscrapered Shanghai. We even went to the top of the world's fourth tallest building. Shanghai is a forest of tall office buildings and hotels. Clouds roll and clot the glassy tops of the tallest skyscrapers, like young Himalayan mountains.

At the Jinmao tower, the world's fourth tallest building, across the river, we joined a crowd on the observation deck on floor 88. As you wait for the elevator, they have a display of the top twelve tallest buildings in the world. Taipei has the tallest tower, and most of them are in Asia. Three or four are in America. I wished that the World Trade Center was still up, so it could contend with Kuala Lampur and glittering Shanghai. Suddenly, I was sobered about America's power.

Will we remain the most powerful country in the world? Surely our skyscrapers testify to our long-standing supremacy. In 1931, we built the Empire State Building, and it remains in 2006 in the top twelve. Has God raised up China as an adversary to test America? How did colossal China get all of its economic wheels turning so quickly and so efficiently?

Sam