One of the most stirring comments ever made, “These are the times that try men’s souls,” is as fitting today as when first uttered by U.S. patriot Thomas Paine (1737-1809) during the Revolutionary War. What practicing engineer doesn’t relate to those words today?

We’re in a major economic slump with many segments of our private and public sectors struggling to survive. In the troubled economic picture are haphazard government bailouts, poorly thought-out federal spending and taxation directives, and careless modifications to the U.S. Constitution. Many powerful political leaders are pushing the philosophy “take from the rich and give to the poor.”

In addition to highly liberal politicians, the most vocal and supportive groups for this kind of thinking come from the mainstream media, Hollywood elites, far-left groups, and an alarming number of our nation’s secondary school teachers and college professors. How these concepts will improve and maintain the United States as a strong and vibrant industrial leader in the long run seem to be left unaddressed.

Abraham Lincoln said, “You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves, and you cannot build character and courage by taking away a man’s initiative and independence.” He also warned, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Where are America’s unifiers today? They’re hard to find.

Visionaries and futurists suggest that the nations in line to prosper and grow — the ones providing their citizens with the best standard of living tomorrow — will be those with the finest engineering, scientific, and technological infrastructure. For the American engineering community to be that — in addition to survive and improve in the future — will depend on how effective it is in helping address today’s serious challenges. These include unprecedented environmental demands, trends toward “big-brother” government, overpopulation, and the flood of engineers with H-1B visas who work at salaries much lower than Americans do.

How well our profession does in the coming years will also be greatly affected by decisions made by our government officials at the federal, state, and local levels. They’ll be central players in our outcome. If you’ve been apathetic and uninvolved in determining who gets elected to public office, it’s time to change your attitude.

After all, the world is run by those who show up and by those holding public leadership roles. Now more than ever in history, it’s crucial for structural engineers to do both — show up as societal pacesetters and elect people who are more concerned about America and Americans than about their political parties, partisanship, and power. These times call for clear-thinking, unbiased leaders — true statesmen and women — who will adhere to the Constitution and the ideals of our Founding Fathers. We need more, not fewer, of these public servants — those who have the spirit, vision, and ability to inspire what prevailed when we as a unified nation put an American on the moon 40 years ago.

Where will we find such leaders? With the nation’s rapidly growing dependence on technology and engineering, people who understand the nuances of such things ought to be considered. With the 2010 elections on the horizon, it’s the perfect time for more engineers to run for a major public office.

It’s not a new concept! Having practicing engineers serving in high office as senators, representatives, mayors, and governors has happened in the past. It’s just that it hasn’t occurred in large numbers. Is now the time for that to change? Will the country be better served — and put on a more stable course — with more engineers and fewer life-long politicians and lawyers running our governments? I lean toward believing it would. It certainly can’t hurt!

Yes, these are, indeed, the times that try men’s souls. But that doesn’t mean we have to give up and sit around watching elected officials ruin things, in particular, our economic system and the future of our profession. The situation cries out for each of us to step forward and actively fight for the kind of America we want, to get involved in politics, supporting and electing to office those whose principles are more in line with Lincoln’s — and our own.

Richard G. Weingardt, P.E., is CEO and chairman of Richard Weingardt Consultants, Inc., a Denver-based structural engineering firm. He can be reached via e-mail at rweingardt@gostructural.com.