(Erin Kirkland | The New York Times) An American flag blows in the breeze outside the General Motors Flint Assembly Plant in Flint, Mich., on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. "In terms of our well-being at home and competitiveness abroad, the blunt truth is that America is lagging. In some respects, we are sliding toward mediocrity," writes The New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof.