My family and I watched the landing from about 2:00PM on. This was a very exciting and amazing accomplishment. NASA has really shown what American Ingenuity, helicopter and all, can do if we set our collective efforts towards a common and grand goal.
The thing about these grand achievements I always ask myself though is: “Why don’t we spend the same energy and effort to solve other grand challenges here at home?” I don’t mean to replace the NASA missions because I support them wholeheartedly, but we have some pretty big challenges here at home that a National Mindset should work on. Just to name a few: Global Warming, World Hunger, Polutions of all kinds, Deforestation, Clean Energy and Poverty. I know I sound like a bleeding heart liberal and I’m not I assure you, I just want to leave the planet better than when I came into the world and right now it doesn’t look like this is going to happen.
I believe America, and to some extent the entire world, has the ability and skills to solve these problems as long as we collaborate and work towards a common goal unabated by petty differences, politics and greed.
Yeah, I know, how unrealistic can I be, but the Perservence mission and all of the space exploration missions before it tell me we can accomplish anything we as a nation put our mind to solving.
I believe we have the technology and the intelligence just not the National Desire to do it. I wish we did.
Soapbox off. I’m NOT trying to DIMINISH anything NASA has done. It was spectacular.
My opinion: The reason we have not tackled these problems are that they have been politicized. I see one ‘side’ of the political spectrum seeking to solve these problems, and the other ‘side’ basically actively ignoring or denying the science. Calling them ‘bleeding heart liberal’ problems speaks to the attitude that only one side needs to worry about them. Much like our current power predicament, I’m all for more investment in solar and wind, but fully understand that fossil fuels are likely to be required for centuries to come. Believing in the science and leaving the politicization out is the path forward.
Global warming ended a few years ago. the Sun is entering a cycle know as a “Maunder Minimum,” which refers to the seven decades, from 1645 to 1715. Look it up. FYI you’re getting a first hand look at what’s coming right now…
World Hunger. People don’t like the only real answer to this one.
Pollution Something to work on, but first you have to give up all your fancy gadgets.
Deforestation - See World Hunger,
Clean Energy - Need to develop the technology for this one and that means more Pollution
Poverty - been here for 5000 years or more, not going away anytime soon…
Space Programs have always lead the way to new discoveries and improvements in our lives
None of the problems we have in this country and around the world are unsolvable. It will take commitment to spend money on things that don’t return an immediate profit (or a profit at all), and to spend money helping poor people. And despite this country’s founding by immigrants who worshiped a man who espoused helping the poor and less fortunate, those ideas have gone by the wayside and been replaced by the shields of “personal responsibility” and “success comes from hard work.”
I doubt anyone in their right mind would say that to a starving child on a poor continent, but it certainly seems reasonable when talking about people who only show up to see their childrens’ mothers on EBT recharge day.