The damage inflicted on America by rampant urbanization is so pervasive and profound, so embedded in unquestioned assumptions, that it escapes critical attention.Yet it's undermining democratic institutions, stifling free market competition, and derailing a revolution in digital technologies. Moreover, it relies on hyper-centralized internet-dependent critical infrastructure that's increasingly vulnerable to crippling cyberattacks and natural disasters. Decentralization has become a 21st century economic, political, and national security imperative. Harvey Meyerson lays out the unacceptable risks in remaining an over--centralized society and the unnoticed possibilities opened up by maximizing the decentralizing potential of digital technologies for building a society anchored in futuristic, globally--connected, self-reliant small communities. The surprise heroes of this story are the members of the United States military. Meyerson traces the military's remarkable history in building national infrastructure, and he proposes a comparable role for it in working with civilian authorities in revitalizing America's rural/small-town infrastructure with the aim of building a stronger grassroots foundation for democratic institutions, a more robust entrepreneurial economy, and a safer nation. This groundbreaking book transcends political partisanship in offering a new nationally unifying framework for political discourse and policymaking.