Yesterday, Neil Armstrong died at age 82. For the people who saw his famous moon walk (the original
and definitely the best) back in 1969, I bet it was life-altering. It was
probably one of those events that begged the question, “Do you remember where
you where when you saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon?” I read that nearly
half a billion people were glued to their TV (black and white!) screens to
watch him. Countless others listened on radios.
What a different world it was back then: America was deeply
embroiled in a space race with Russia, not to mention a larger Cold War. The
Vietnam War was going on. Woodstock was only in the planning stages and with
all the political and social turmoil going on, an American becomes the first
person to set foot on the moon. The moon! I can only imagine the feelings of unrestrained
joy and pride that people must have felt that day. I think if something like
that happened today, politicians would clamber to quickly take credit for it,
announce it as their brainchild, and then include it in their re-election ads with a thoughtful
but compelling voiceover.
In recent years, it seems like NASA has lost its prominence
in popular culture and I remember feeling sad when, a couple of years ago, the
President talked about shifting away from government-aided space programs and
letting private companies basically take over the area. Are astronauts now obsolete?
I hope not. There are few issues in our modern era that haven’t become divisive
points for political debate—but I think space exploration ought to be
one of them.
And whether you agree or disagree that we, as a nation,
should spend money on figuring out exactly what else is out there, I hope we
can all take the directive of Armstrong’s family: “Next time you walk outside
on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong
and give him a wink.”
