From the Earth to the Moon

I am a child of the 60’s and 70’s. I was born on Long Island, New York and raised there during that turbulent era. It was a time filled with the desire for peace and the search for love. It was a time when the United States was at a crossroads. It was also the time of many of my fondest memories. In fact, the period from 1968-1975 was a time that shaped the future of the United States.

It was the last time the country was in great turmoil. We were deeply into the worst part of the Vietnam War. The country was split in two over many decisions made in that war. It was very hard to watch the news every night and see our soldiers dying in Vietnam and being ridiculed back home in the United States. The war demonstrations were happening and being televised daily.

It was also the last time there was a constitutional crisis in our country. It was the closest the country ever came to an internal revolution. The crisis peaked with the Watergate Scandal in which Richard Nixon was forced to become the first and only president to resign the office in August, 1974 (which by the way was the first year of Saturday Night Live). President Nixon abused power and paid the price.

However, the price the country was forced to pay because of Nixon’s indiscretions was the election of the worst president the country has ever seen, Jimmy Carter. When Mr. Carter left office in 1981, the economy was in shambles and our international policy was considered a joke. But, that is the topic of a possible future column.

For now, I want to talk a little bit about 1969. Forty-one years ago. Hard to imagine, but that’s how long ago it really was. 1969 was the year of many firsts. It was one of the greatest years to be a New Yorker. It was one of the greatest years to be an American.

It was the year of the first and only Jets’ Super Bowl win; the year of Joe Namath’s guarantee. It was the year of the first New York Knicks’ NBA title; the year of Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, and soon to be Senator Bill Bradley. And, it was the year of the New York Mets’ first World Series Championship: The year that those of us who are Mets’ fans will never forget.

The Mets won the World Series again in 1986, but it did not have the emotion and impact of 1969. 1986 was not the year of Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones, Don Clendenon, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Koosman and one of the greatest pitchers of all time Tom Seaver. It was a dream come true as a New Yorker for former Brooklyn Dodger first baseman Gil Hodges to lead the hapless Mets to that 1969 championship.

It was also the year of Woodstock; what some people call the end of the hippie era. The three day festival of music and love in upstate New York started as a simple rock concert and turned into a legendary event that has since become the Mecca that every rock extravaganza tries to emulate.

It was a truly wonderful year to be a New Yorker.

And, it was a wonderful year to be an American.

It was the year of Apollo 11. There is not one person alive on that July date that does not remember Neil Armstrong stepping his foot onto the lunar surface and uttering those immortal lines:

“This is one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.”

And, it was. As most of you know, I am in Thailand prepping a feature film to be directed by Prachya Pinkaew. Just yesterday Prachya and I were talking and the Apollo missions came up. Prachya told me that in Thailand there was no school on that July day except for the students to watch the lunar landing on TV. It was truly an international event.

Since that July 1969 day, man has gone to the moon 5 more times. The last of which was Apollo 17 in December 1972. In the 38 years since, we have not returned. I often wonder why? It took us eight years to get there the first time. Why is it taking so long to get there a second time?

For those of us that were alive on that July, 1969 day, it will never be forgotten. Those under 40 were not there and cannot understand what I am relating. They have no recollection of the heroes that were the astronauts; of the great pride in being American; of the wonder of going outside and seeing the moon and knowing that we had placed someone there. We put men on the moon six times and returned them safely. No other country has ever accomplished it. No other country has ever tried. Tom Hanks came close to showing the emotion attached to that achievement in the HBO miniseries, “From the Earth to the Moon.” But, he only came close. You had to live it; to experience it. You had to be there.

Just last week, President Obama gave his State of the Union Address. A speech that was uninspired and really proves that this is a man without ideas: a man who was elected to a position that he is unqualified to hold. He is a man lost in the complexity of his vision and his ambition. Thus far, he is a failure.

Today, President Obama is releasing his budget for the next fiscal year. A budget that proposes the largest deficit in the history of the United States: 1.6 trillion. That’s right, trillion. According to Fox News, it is a budget that freezes discretionary spending, except for defense. It does not address the fastest growing parts of the federal budget; social security, Medicare and Medicaid. It leaves them to grow unabated along with the deficit.

However, it does address one issue. It scraps NASA’s plan to return to the moon. According to the cited CBS News article, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/17/tech/cnettechnews/main5168126.shtml, NASA had planned to go the moon by 2020 and set up a permanent base there to be used for missions to Mars and beyond. Imagine that, we were going to bring that glory back to our country.

Upon hearing this last year, my childhood memories of the Apollo Astronauts and the entire space program came back. The national pride came back. The desire for scientific knowledge came back. We were going to continue our search to the stars.

The CBS article is a good primer for all of the reasons to go back to the Moon and to continue space exploration. I will not repeat most of them, but I will say that the expense is worth it. It is worth it in more than national pride. It is a real stimulus package. It will create jobs. It will create new technological advancements. And, it will do so over a number of states. The beginnings of the program are already active in 11 different states.

So, I say to President Obama, if you have any vision; if you want to be remembered for something other than your failures; if you want to do something right, then echo the immortal words of John F. Kennedy:

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win. . .”

The full text of Kennedy’s, September 12, 1962 speech at Rice University can be found at: http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/ricetalk.htm.

So, President Obama, while you still have a chance to save your failing presidency, do you have the guts to challenge America in such a way? Do you have the guts to have such a vision? Do you have the guts to show any love for the country you lead?

© 2010 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be granted freely upon request.