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Is this supposed to make some kind of sense? Does PJ think people have a choice about whether they get old? Does PJ think?
In the 60s the lefties were convinced that the space program caused poverty. THEY SPEND ALL THAT MONEY ON SPACE! OH LORD, IT'S AWFUL! Of course, there was no connection between the relatively small amount of money spent on space and poverty.
Now we hear the reverse idiocy. Somehow it's those horrible disabled people on welfare who are killing the space program. Equally stupid.
Think beyond the next year, consider the next decade or century. Those of us that have experienced the birth of NASA, the challenge and inspiration of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and the Shuttle have a message for you.
What NASA has been launching for the past 53 years was much more then rockets, astronauts, or anything physical. What took flight inspired a world. It moved countless hundreds of thousands individuals to careers in science, engineering and technology. Yet even this only scratches the surface. Each time the once impossible was overcome it was for all humanity; past, present and future. These accomplishments are bigger than any one nation, people or time; they were - for all mankind.
NASA routinely, yet not without tremendous effort, dedication and at times cost (sometimes in human life) transformed the impossible into possible and shared it with the world. Human space exploration thought millions upon millions the only real limits we have are those of our own choosing. I don't believe there is a better lesson to teach our children or their children - anywhere.
How do you calculate the benefit of inspiring a generation, a planet and more? Those of us, privileged to have lived though this time in history intrinsically know, we feel the magnitude of benefits space exploration has bestowed on the entire planet for all humanity.
I'm an optimist in believing this lapse of vision and courage won't last long in historical perspective. I deeply regret the time that will be wasted; opportunities postponed, the nation that is suddenly smaller by our own hand. I grieve for humanity that hungers for inspiration but will have to wait, needlessly. The human spirit has exploration woven into its DNA. Space exploration isn't just an option; it's ultimately necessary for our survival.
We the people - do not lack the resources or will to imagine and make the next era of space exploration a reality. What sickens the soul and threatens to darken the immediate future of critical science, technology and humanities advancement is an eclipse of imagination, vision, courage and wisdom in our leaders to define the next era in space exploration. May our children and their children forgive us and our current leaders for being small minded now.
Is that what Star Trek was really all about? Were Klingons simply disparages natives with enough know how to fight back? They were pretty dark and slantly eyed after all...
The need to develop alternate energy and the technology to use it would have been a perfect arena for America to leap ahead of the rest of the world. Instead, we've dug in our heels and clung even more stubbornly to a rapidly diminishing energy resource, increasing our dependence on importing our industrial life's blood from autocratic countries that most certainly don't have our interests at heart. Whatever the energy resources of the future, it's a sure bet that the US will not be the nation developing them and exporting them to the rest of the world.
Automakers are more concerned about going to Congress and whining that they can't make more fuel efficient cars ("we can't sell them, Americans won't buy them") while Europe and Asia are forging ahead, building the cars of the future that ultimately, most Americans will buy out of necessity if for no other reason than shrinking oil reserves send gas prices skyrocketing.
Now we're simply ceding manned space exploration to the Russians and any other nation still bold enough to go where no man has gone before. Wherever that may be, it's for damned sure that America will not get there first, if we get there at all. A sad decline of a once-great nation that has no interest in leading, and only minimal interest in following.
It is unfortunate that "commercial" has become a dirty word in America, because commercial interest has been the single greatest driver of technological progress in our country. Imagine if the government were the only entity allowed to design cars or aircraft! Imagine the glacial pace of progress in those markets if every new design or technology had to be filtered through endless levels of political and bureaucratic review.
In my mind, this is not at all the end of the space program. It is a promising rebirth. While it is the end of one era, it is the dawn of a whole new one, and era of rapid expansion and unprecedented advances. Let profit be the driver, and we'll see just how quickly and efficiently spacecraft can be designed, delivered, and improved.
Even better: How about we end all of our wars of choice and put the entire $113 billion that we're whizzing away in Afghanistan and Iraq (and now Libya) into NASA and tell them we need to get to Mars by the end of the decade?
Too bad our leaders still enjoy the same old tired games. From time to time they need to look at this world through the eyes of a child. It's only through imagination that humanity is bettered.