Charles Krauthammer has a beautiful column (don't choke on your Wheaties at that rather unexpected phrase) today in support of the Bush Administration's plan to return to the moon and establish a base there.I wholeheartedly agree. Our 30 year hiatus in travel to the moon has been tragic time lost for humankind.
Krauthammer takes on those who say "we shouldn't be spending so much money on 'moon shots' when we have so many problems here on Earth." Quote of note:
I find this objection incomprehensible. When will we stop having problems here on Earth? In a fallen world of endless troubles, that does not stop us from allocating resources to endeavors we find beautiful, exciting and elevating -- opera, alpine skiing, feature films -- yet solve no social problems.
And the practical reasons for going to the moon?
Exploration is humanity's birthright. It defines us as a species. We alone of life on this planet discover new habitats and adapt. Yes we have made tragic mistakes, been destructive, exploitative -- but hopefully (and current Administration foreign policy fiascos aside) we have learned. A baby learning to walk suffers many spills and accidents. We are just now poised to stand and take our first steps into the cosmos. We can be no more sure of what we will find then was Columbus setting sail but just as certain to find wonders we could not imagine.Nor is it true that there is nothing of use or even of interest on the moon. There are all kinds of materials to be exploited, observations of the cosmos to be made and knowledge to be gained on how best to live off the land away from Earth.
A century ago there seemed to be nothing in Antarctica, either. We went there first for adventure, then for discovery. The concrete scientific advances Antarctica has yielded (regarding climate change and the ozone layer, for example) have been as important as they were unexpected.
As Krauthammer poetically sums up:
And then there's the glory. If you find any value, any lift of the spirit in a beautiful mathematical proof, in an elegant balletic turn, in any of the myriad human endeavors that have no utility but only breathtaking beauty, then you should feel something when our little species succeeds in establishing new life in a void that for all eternity had been the province of the gods. If you don't feel that, you are -- don't take this personally -- deaf to the music of our time.
Bravo.
For more info about the moon base, check this site out.
1 comment:
I never agree with the man, but I do this time. It only makes sense to continue our exploration outside this world. There was a recent New York Times piece saying the same thing, where they called Nixon's scrapping of the space program perhaps his greatest mistake. I obviously wasn't around then and don't know much about what the author's talking about, but that's a mighty big mistake if it's Nixon's greatest mistake.
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