In 1969, Neil Armstrong, and American astronaut, became the first man on the moon, and spoke the unforgettable words, “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The phrase could not be truer, and was likely a glimmer of light on a decade that was plagued with darkness. A decade, for America, that had encompassed the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and experienced the Vietnam War, along with several other foreign issues. It is now 2010, and the over forty years between has seen leaps and bounds in technology, an ever fluctuating economy, and a cloud of wars and foreign affairs. However, the light the space program bestowed on our nation may soon be forgotten. After this September, the prominent, well-respected space shuttle program will shut down, despite the enumerable value it has brought to our nation, as it’s served as one of our leading science technology sectors.
You have to be asking yourself, “What does someone like Neil Armstrong think about this?” For that matter, what do the hundreds of thousands of people think about this that work there, and/or have dedicated their lives to the space technology that will simply be lost and forgotten in just a few short months?
American’s are being forced to pass off a legacy to the Russians whom we will have to depend on for any further transportation into space. Gene Koprowski with FoxNew.com raises a very serious question in asking, “what will happen to American astronauts if U.S.-Russian relations sour?” If I recall correctly there is a saying about history repeating itself, and if I also recall correctly U.S.-Russian relations have always been considerably rocky, and unstable.
I’m starting to wonder what will be next: a military base in North Korea, a McDonalds at the Taliban headquarters, or an American pharmaceuticals company cutting some kind of deal with the Mexican drug cartel.
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The thoughts expressed in this blog on the removal of the space technology programs in the United States make me also being to wonder why we haven't learned from "police actions" in other countries, over-eating even balancing imports and exports in trade. I don't understand how we can be such a great nation yet still lack the ability to critically look into the past and say to ourselves "Damn...we should probably not do THAT again!". Instead we seem to insist on putting ourselves in the same sticky situations as before and I'm sure that Neil Armstrong would be singing his agreement! I feel that the removal of this program and the repercussions it will have on the United States years from now will leave us baffled and most likely wondering "Why did the government put us in this situation?!". The truth of the matter is, as American citizens it is our job to provide input on what will happen in our country and if we stand by and allow a small portion of our population to be the only factors in decision making , we are partially at fault. If we can take the sidelines and leave decision making up to a few, when mistakes from history are repeated in our own time, we don't have much room or reason to complain. This is all very unfortunate and makes me wish for a more engaged and informed nation that would take the past into account, yet maybe that is just something we will never learn.This post was well worded and effective in urging the reader to take a second look at what is going on right now and I thank the author of this blog for encouraging that type of proactive behavior.
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