The beginning of the 20th century could be marked on a calendar as beginning on the same day that marked the beginning of the 19th, 18th and 17th centuries — January 1st.
Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space: “For me, the most ironic token of [the first human moon landing] is the plaque signed by President Richard M. Nixon that Apollo 11 took to the moon. It reads: "We came in peace for all Mankind." As the United States was dropping 7 ½ megatons of conventional explosives on small nations in Southeast Asia, we congratulated ourselves on our humanity. We would harm no one on a lifeless rock.”
Carl Sagan: “A blade of grass is a commonplace on Earth; it would be a miracle on Mars. Our descendants on Mars will know the value of a patch of green. And if a blade of grass is priceless, what is the value of a human being?”
I hope that these next generations can use technology as a tool for authentic connection and quality education, not one of destruction, distraction, and disconnection from what it means to be human -Life itself, living on a fragile planet with other beings that are facing extinction. To whom much is given, much is required.
I didn't see this post till now. It's wonderful! (Also: how strange that you had already written what Carl Sagan said about the moon landing -- so similar to what my mother wrote. Great minds, I suppose.)
I read this a couple of times. Was a kid in the 60s, teenager in the 70s. Over the past few years as I watch and listen to this current day history being made, I have thoughts of what the hell, we dealt with this. Why is it back? Speaking this to my daughter once she said you only thought it was dealt with, it was an illusion. I think she is probably right. I know that change comes hard. It comes with pain, it is born out of chaos. So here we are, again. My hope is we get it right this time.
Interesting take on the past 100 years. Past is not always prelude, however, and scientific and technological gains have often come at a cost, especially for those who are at the margins of society. How much better off would we be if we valued public education and health (including mental) over aggression and self-aggrandizement?
Al, I don't know how much $ goes into space exploration per year, but it would be interesting to compare that amount with public school funding and mental health programs. These programs should be a huge priority over space exploration (or more addictive technical digital contraptions that mess up the minds of children.) What are we trying to achieve with more and more technology at the expense of quality education? I have to wonder. If these issues were properly addressed, I have no doubt that we'd be in much better shape as a society.
My mother wrote this after the 1969 Moon Landing, which thrilled her to her bones. She, nevertheless, like you, questioned the morality of the money spent on space adventure in a poem she wrote, "Quick, Angels": "Quick, angels, look! earth's master just shot by! ... and scarcely an Age since I said to him, 'Well, son, this globe, its beasts and flowers, its sea and sky, forces and laws are yours, now, every one, to name and learn to know.' Great Gravity has bowed already to his rocket's thrust; the Atom yields its wholeness at his hand; the Cow conceives her calf apart from lust. Poor thing -- eager to chart the farthest star, harness the final forces raging wild, he leaves a seething slum to fight a war and orbit the earth above a napalmed child." (She was referring to the VN war.)
Hi Kathy, "Quick, Angels" is fantastic -thank you! It is, for me, a challenging and dynamic poem with a gut-wrenching final line of harsh reality. I read this poem to a friend a couple of times this evening. We love that line, "Great Gravity has bowed already to his rocket's thrust." I'll need to take a closer look at the next two lines after that one and I look forward to doing so. It would be interesting to see this poem in its visual format at some point. We are the lucky ones, I feel, to each have had a parent who was a poet. My father was a wonderful poet, philosopher, and a song-writer. He was also entirely enamored by Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969. He would have deeply felt and appreciated your mother's poem, though, in both style and content. It is all too easy to take for granted this 3rd rock from our sun-star. Thank you again for sharing this beautiful poem! XO Lisa
I am so glad that you appreciate it. She was an extreme introvert, with a powerful sense of social justice. I think she was able to put down a lot of her thoughts about justice on paper, in the form of her poetry, though talking about it was difficult for her. (I didn't know that your Dad wrote songs! We'll have to discuss more about all of that via email!) xo to you
Not sure there is an apples to apples comparison there. There have been studies on the derivative benefits of NASA spending on the advancement of other technologies and the economy. I think the NASA budget is some $20+ billion, give or take a few. Between space and defense, there’s surely $ tht could be better spent elsewhere.
LIsa, we have a corporate generated popular culture. It must yield selling and buying more stuff. We are the world leaders in this way of life, the Asian competition is pushing computer/communications technology even faster. The entire world economy is dependent upon this one narrow industry. Nothing can stop the destruction of at least half of the world's electronically kept information and electronically controlled machinery in the event of a sufficiently strong Corona Mass Ejection. It will happen, but when is unpredictable. Cyber war will cause smaller losses, still devastating for their victims. Society is not trying to achieve anything with more computer technology. Industry is trying to sell more stuff, and aren't they lucky that lots of it is addictive and now they have the world by the your know whats.
I think this era started with Trump's announcement of his intent to run for president. It pulled away the veils covering the racism, sexism, xenophobia, and ableism in our society. It elevated name-calling to a new high. It ushered in an era of the unacceptable becoming the new normal. I think that that is how it will be remembered. Judith Lesner
Given this history and the advancements made it feels during these times there is a cultural lag. Parents choosing books or banning books at school and blatant violence against those who are not white and straight is discouraging. That some people lag is expected but Boebert and Greene ? Still in office? There are reasons for optimism but it still feels like slogging throw mud.
If the 20th Century began on September 14, 1901, the 21st Century surely began on September 11, 2001.
Perhaps that's why this century has been so chaotic, extreme, and violent so far, and seemingly becoming more so every day. With yet another gunman executing innocent people with a weapon of war (this time because they were patronizing a gay nightclub), we are turning our fear and hatred of the "otherness" of people who are different from us into deadly action, over and over and over again.
I hope Steve's optimism for the future of space travel is correct. I hope we can leave the beginning of this century of violent intolerance behind us, and usher in an era of cooperation, innovation, and peace. Our lives and the future of our country depend on it.
I need your history lessons now more than ever at my age. I sometimes forget how much has happened around me in my lifetime. When I was a boy I relied on movies and books to dream of missions to the moon and beyond. There were party lines that always got crossed when you were talking on the phone. Rock and roll was growing up in the sixties and it seemed the world was coming undone with the deaths of the Kennedys, MLK and Vietnam. Then suddenly the world seemed to stop and all eyes were glued to TV sets around the world when the eagle landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong would change our world forever with those immortal words as he stepped onto the lunar surface. Time stood still for just an instant as I watched in amazement.
I have not thought of that moment in many years until I read your piece this morning over coffee. The world moves so fast at times and we need moments like the moon landing and the Berlin wall coming down to remind us of the humanity around us and remember our common bonds, especially when the world is raging.
Thank you Steve. This commentary is inspirational. It gives me hope for my children and grandchildren in my beloved country. A baby boomer myself, I’ll hold on for the ride as long as I can. At least I can vote!
Your knowledge of history is astounding and your ability to bring it all together and have it flow from one "era" to another is brilliant - i so enjoy reading your essays. Thanks. Steve
Since my first exposure to you on TV, your words have often been a balm to my soul. Today is such a day. Thank you for your clarity and insight. And the hope!
Enjoyed this essay. The history reminders and optimistic words keep me from being so depressed or angry all the time at the chaos in our country. 40-50-60 years ago, I thought we were making headway for women, LGBTQ, brown people, people in poverty... nope, still fighting.
Thank you. I find this inspiring. I am of the last era, born the year that World War 2 ended. I won’t be around to see this future you envision. But it soothes me to see your vision of the future when so many are predicting disaster in the short term.
I remember even as a Canadian child in the 1970s being enthralled by the moon landings. I look forward to my kids and eventual grandchildren hopefully being amazed by similar events.
Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space: “For me, the most ironic token of [the first human moon landing] is the plaque signed by President Richard M. Nixon that Apollo 11 took to the moon. It reads: "We came in peace for all Mankind." As the United States was dropping 7 ½ megatons of conventional explosives on small nations in Southeast Asia, we congratulated ourselves on our humanity. We would harm no one on a lifeless rock.”
Carl Sagan: “A blade of grass is a commonplace on Earth; it would be a miracle on Mars. Our descendants on Mars will know the value of a patch of green. And if a blade of grass is priceless, what is the value of a human being?”
I hope that these next generations can use technology as a tool for authentic connection and quality education, not one of destruction, distraction, and disconnection from what it means to be human -Life itself, living on a fragile planet with other beings that are facing extinction. To whom much is given, much is required.
Well said
Wow. Gorgeous, Lisa.
Excellent Lisa
I didn't see this post till now. It's wonderful! (Also: how strange that you had already written what Carl Sagan said about the moon landing -- so similar to what my mother wrote. Great minds, I suppose.)
I read this a couple of times. Was a kid in the 60s, teenager in the 70s. Over the past few years as I watch and listen to this current day history being made, I have thoughts of what the hell, we dealt with this. Why is it back? Speaking this to my daughter once she said you only thought it was dealt with, it was an illusion. I think she is probably right. I know that change comes hard. It comes with pain, it is born out of chaos. So here we are, again. My hope is we get it right this time.
We did get it right back then.
The illusion is to think that the fight to fix things ends there.
Like a house in good repair, you need to fix a little something every day.
The big mistake our generation made was back in the 80s.
We were told that government was too big,
that live POWs were rotting in N Vietnam,
that unions were bad,
that aids was god’s wroth on gays,
that caring for the environment was a mistake,
that apartheid S Africa was fine,
that progressive taxation was bad,
that welfare queens were the source of all evil,
that global warming was a hoax,
that exporting our economy to a slave wage based country came at no cost.
A lot of us bought these lies, and the rest of us did not fight back hard enough.
The middle class in the US has been sinking ever since.
Now they form the angry mobs, ripe for fascist propaganda machines like Fox News.
But during these decades of decline, we did amazing things as well.
Today they are all around us.
Back then the “Great Generation” had survived the depression and beat back world evil.
Are we as “great” as they?
If we want it hard enough, then yes.
What a daughter!
Interesting take on the past 100 years. Past is not always prelude, however, and scientific and technological gains have often come at a cost, especially for those who are at the margins of society. How much better off would we be if we valued public education and health (including mental) over aggression and self-aggrandizement?
Al, I don't know how much $ goes into space exploration per year, but it would be interesting to compare that amount with public school funding and mental health programs. These programs should be a huge priority over space exploration (or more addictive technical digital contraptions that mess up the minds of children.) What are we trying to achieve with more and more technology at the expense of quality education? I have to wonder. If these issues were properly addressed, I have no doubt that we'd be in much better shape as a society.
My mother wrote this after the 1969 Moon Landing, which thrilled her to her bones. She, nevertheless, like you, questioned the morality of the money spent on space adventure in a poem she wrote, "Quick, Angels": "Quick, angels, look! earth's master just shot by! ... and scarcely an Age since I said to him, 'Well, son, this globe, its beasts and flowers, its sea and sky, forces and laws are yours, now, every one, to name and learn to know.' Great Gravity has bowed already to his rocket's thrust; the Atom yields its wholeness at his hand; the Cow conceives her calf apart from lust. Poor thing -- eager to chart the farthest star, harness the final forces raging wild, he leaves a seething slum to fight a war and orbit the earth above a napalmed child." (She was referring to the VN war.)
Hi Kathy, "Quick, Angels" is fantastic -thank you! It is, for me, a challenging and dynamic poem with a gut-wrenching final line of harsh reality. I read this poem to a friend a couple of times this evening. We love that line, "Great Gravity has bowed already to his rocket's thrust." I'll need to take a closer look at the next two lines after that one and I look forward to doing so. It would be interesting to see this poem in its visual format at some point. We are the lucky ones, I feel, to each have had a parent who was a poet. My father was a wonderful poet, philosopher, and a song-writer. He was also entirely enamored by Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969. He would have deeply felt and appreciated your mother's poem, though, in both style and content. It is all too easy to take for granted this 3rd rock from our sun-star. Thank you again for sharing this beautiful poem! XO Lisa
I am so glad that you appreciate it. She was an extreme introvert, with a powerful sense of social justice. I think she was able to put down a lot of her thoughts about justice on paper, in the form of her poetry, though talking about it was difficult for her. (I didn't know that your Dad wrote songs! We'll have to discuss more about all of that via email!) xo to you
Wow!!!
See the poem Whitey On The Moon by Gil Scott-Herron. Specific situations have partly changed, but it is still the same story now.
I wish she could have read this!
Not sure there is an apples to apples comparison there. There have been studies on the derivative benefits of NASA spending on the advancement of other technologies and the economy. I think the NASA budget is some $20+ billion, give or take a few. Between space and defense, there’s surely $ tht could be better spent elsewhere.
LIsa, we have a corporate generated popular culture. It must yield selling and buying more stuff. We are the world leaders in this way of life, the Asian competition is pushing computer/communications technology even faster. The entire world economy is dependent upon this one narrow industry. Nothing can stop the destruction of at least half of the world's electronically kept information and electronically controlled machinery in the event of a sufficiently strong Corona Mass Ejection. It will happen, but when is unpredictable. Cyber war will cause smaller losses, still devastating for their victims. Society is not trying to achieve anything with more computer technology. Industry is trying to sell more stuff, and aren't they lucky that lots of it is addictive and now they have the world by the your know whats.
"Past is not always prelude" -- wiser words were never spoken (unfortunately).
Agree
I think this era started with Trump's announcement of his intent to run for president. It pulled away the veils covering the racism, sexism, xenophobia, and ableism in our society. It elevated name-calling to a new high. It ushered in an era of the unacceptable becoming the new normal. I think that that is how it will be remembered. Judith Lesner
Exactly right Judith
Given this history and the advancements made it feels during these times there is a cultural lag. Parents choosing books or banning books at school and blatant violence against those who are not white and straight is discouraging. That some people lag is expected but Boebert and Greene ? Still in office? There are reasons for optimism but it still feels like slogging throw mud.
If the 20th Century began on September 14, 1901, the 21st Century surely began on September 11, 2001.
Perhaps that's why this century has been so chaotic, extreme, and violent so far, and seemingly becoming more so every day. With yet another gunman executing innocent people with a weapon of war (this time because they were patronizing a gay nightclub), we are turning our fear and hatred of the "otherness" of people who are different from us into deadly action, over and over and over again.
I hope Steve's optimism for the future of space travel is correct. I hope we can leave the beginning of this century of violent intolerance behind us, and usher in an era of cooperation, innovation, and peace. Our lives and the future of our country depend on it.
"future of our country"? I would argue "future of humanity"
I need your history lessons now more than ever at my age. I sometimes forget how much has happened around me in my lifetime. When I was a boy I relied on movies and books to dream of missions to the moon and beyond. There were party lines that always got crossed when you were talking on the phone. Rock and roll was growing up in the sixties and it seemed the world was coming undone with the deaths of the Kennedys, MLK and Vietnam. Then suddenly the world seemed to stop and all eyes were glued to TV sets around the world when the eagle landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong would change our world forever with those immortal words as he stepped onto the lunar surface. Time stood still for just an instant as I watched in amazement.
I have not thought of that moment in many years until I read your piece this morning over coffee. The world moves so fast at times and we need moments like the moon landing and the Berlin wall coming down to remind us of the humanity around us and remember our common bonds, especially when the world is raging.
Thank you Steve. This commentary is inspirational. It gives me hope for my children and grandchildren in my beloved country. A baby boomer myself, I’ll hold on for the ride as long as I can. At least I can vote!
Your knowledge of history is astounding and your ability to bring it all together and have it flow from one "era" to another is brilliant - i so enjoy reading your essays. Thanks. Steve
Since my first exposure to you on TV, your words have often been a balm to my soul. Today is such a day. Thank you for your clarity and insight. And the hope!
Janet in Minneapolis
Enjoyed this essay. The history reminders and optimistic words keep me from being so depressed or angry all the time at the chaos in our country. 40-50-60 years ago, I thought we were making headway for women, LGBTQ, brown people, people in poverty... nope, still fighting.
It is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Hang in there Gaia.
Thank you. I find this inspiring. I am of the last era, born the year that World War 2 ended. I won’t be around to see this future you envision. But it soothes me to see your vision of the future when so many are predicting disaster in the short term.
Beautiful words and sentiment to start the day.
Ever hopeful. 💕
I remember even as a Canadian child in the 1970s being enthralled by the moon landings. I look forward to my kids and eventual grandchildren hopefully being amazed by similar events.