by blogbits on Jul.20, 2009, under Uncategorized
‘We Choose to Go…’
“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”
— Neil Armstrong (1930–), upon landing on the Moon, July 20, 1969
Forty years ago today, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module “Eagle” on the surface of the moon, while Michael Collins remained in the command module “Columbia” in lunar orbit. It was the culmination of years of hard work and was not without the loss of life. Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a tragic accident when the pure oxygen atmosphere of their command module ignited.
I am sure the news will be full of tributes and remembrances, as people talk about where they were when mankind landed on the moon, and a few may even mention that we accomplished this feat while the U.S. military was still deeply involved in the quagmire of Vietnam.
Today, as our military is deployed around the world and engaged in combat operations, we have generations that never knew the pride of our national accomplishment, who never knew the begrudging admiration of the rest of the world as the United States placed a plaque inscribed with the words “We came in peace for all mankind” on the surface of the moon. Instead, we are derided for what many see as ill advised military adventures, our national debt is on the rise and our economy is more fragile than it has ever been in the past.
So this may seem like an unimaginable dream to some and a fervent prayer to others: This nation needs to recapture the vision, imagination and determination that we once possessed, to journey beyond the confines of our world, to do what others called impossible, to focus our efforts on the frontier of space and strive to better understand ourselves through bold exploration of the unknown. Yes, we have many problems here on Earth, but the window of opportunity to venture into space is rapidly shrinking. Who knows what adventures lie beyond for all mankind and what great inventions will be created to get us there. America has always looked toward the future. Now is not the time to join the ranks of past empires and civilizations that have surrendered to the impetus of worldly woes and relegated their dreams to the dustbin of history.
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July 20th, 2009 on 3:18 pm
I don’t see an About tab on your blog – can you tell us swho you are?
A few thoughts on your post. Besides the moon and Mars, I’m not sure it would even be possible for manned expeditions to other planets – too hot or too gaseous. Travel beyond our own solar system, where distances are measured in light years, is out of the question for many decades, at the very least. We’ve had numerous shuttle missions and an internationa space station up for years, but few can point to much we learned from them. Non-manned exploration of the solar system and next generation Hubble telescopes are far more likely to expand our knowledge. Instead of space exploration for the sake of national prestige, it would be better to share the costs and pool the brains of the whole planet by joint work. Finally, why alievating human suffering, overcoming fatal diseases, etc. aren’t seen as ambitious adventures and inspirations for future generations is beyond me.
July 21st, 2009 on 8:27 am
Greetings,
I am not sure what happened to the about page, but here it is:
About the Author
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
— George Orwell (1903–1950)
Greetings and welcome to my blog.
My name is Steven Smith. I retired from the U.S. Army after more than 20 years. While in the service, my primary job was working as a military police investigator. That is where I discovered the power of writing — when the reports reflecting the results of my investigations could have a direct effect on the life of someone else. Since then, I have always tried to choose my words carefully, with varying degrees of success.
After getting out of the Army, I went back to college briefly in pursuit of a degree in journalism; however, after my instructor told me that there were no “real” journalism jobs to be had in Tucson, and that print media was going away, I had to reevaluate my plans.
During a break from college, I lucked out and fell into a job with a local business, where I work as a technical writer and editor. The work is challenging, educational and allows me to hone my writing skills. This job has also provided the opportunity for me to see that the Dilbert cartoons are actually an illustrated documentary about real corporate life, or as they say in Hollywood, “You can’t make this stuff up.”
I do not claim to know everything about everything, but I do have opinions about a lot of things discussed in these online forums. I enjoy these virtual conversations and frequently find the point of view of others’ enlightening, unsettling and entertaining.
Thank you
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
As for the future exploration of space, I think it is more important for mankind to seek new methods and technologies to achieve what others consider to be impossible than to focus only on what we can do now.
If we used that model we probably would not have gotten mucg further than the industrial age and our endangered environment would be worse off than it is now.
Perhaps the exploration of space would help people realize that we are all together on planetship Earth and that our survival as a species is tied directly to the stewardship of our world.