John F. Kennedy once inspired a nation and a world with his challenge to America to land a man on the moon: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." I was getting ready to turn eleven when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. The awe in which I held the astronauts, the space program, and the country as a whole cannot be described, nor has it ever been forgotten. To this day, when I think of their achievement, or when I am looking up at the moon on a crisp, cool night, I am like that little boy again, impressed with the immensity of space and astounded by its possibilities. I thought as recently as a few months ago that once again, in my lifetime, I would be witness to inspirational deeds. Some time ago President Bush set us on a course for the exploration of Mars. The program, Constellation, would begin with another moon landing, after which the moon would be used as a jump off point for a trip to Mars.
Then, a few months ago, it was announced that Constellation had been killed by the Obama administration. Billions of dollars had already been spent, and a whole new generation of kids was starting to take notice. After all, it is their generation which will make the actual trips. But now, the landing craft are being dismantled, and even as our own heavy lift capability has degraded to the point where we have to depend on the Russians to take material to the International Space Station, we are dismantling the rockets which could complete the mission to Mars and beyond. When this decision was announced, Barack Obama stated that he would be looking to private enterprise to build the rockets we need. Space is one thing that I feel is important enough that we should have a national program, and we should be building our own rockets, not dismantling them.
Now, Obama's own NASA director has, in an interview, stated what Obama's #1 goal is--to create better relations with the Muslim world. HUH?? This is the truth, I'm not making it up! Here's the link to the interview: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/05/nasa-chief-frontier-better-relations-muslims/
Man has always looked beyond his boundaries for new challenges. Climbing Mount Everest, sailing the ocean solo, flying across the Atlantic, circumnavigating the globe, and yes, going to the moon. It is through these endeavors that mankind finds out the best about itself, about what great and wondrous things can be achieved with effort and determination. There is no hill too high to climb. So, JFK once inspired us to look to the heavens and send a man to the moon. Obama is inspiring us to...be kind to Muslims?
