I recently had the opportunity to gaze at one of the most mind-boggling accomplishments in history. This marvel is the result of thousands of human beings collaborating across dozens of countries. It required the combined labor of artists, biologists, politicians, mechanics, miners and goatherds. It took airplanes, boats, trucks, motorcycles, vans, pallets and shoulders. It depended on a vast range of materials, from steel and wood to explosives and bat guano. It relied on ancient wisdom and space-age technology, on freezing temperatures and scorching heat.

It...