The Final Frontier

One thing that really made me like Bush all the more came up around the middle of this year. The President wants a moon base, with the intention of using it as a springboard for a manned mission to Mars. This is long overdue.

The political opposition is fierce, of course. This should not come as a surprise. If President Bush were to say the sky is blue, at least 4 different Democratic presidential candidates would get on the air to call him a liar. Even discounting the pure politics of the President’s position, a visionary is seldom appreciated until the full benefit of his vision has come to pass. There is plenty of historical precedent. Most people thought Orville and Wilbur Wright were crazy. Just look where their crude airplane brought us less than 100 years later.

Why the space program is so important? As a nation, we have blinded ourselves to the benefits of exploration. Some say the only way to get America back into space is to discover some sort of resource up there that could be exploited. This is quite narrow-minded. There are far more benefits to space exploration than are readily apparent.

The human spirit is a pioneering one. Our insatiable curiosity has led us to what and where we are today. If the early explorers had not the courage to see what was over the next hill, the known world today would be a poor place indeed. None of us would be here. Exploration is one of man’s basic instincts, and it has served us well.

Unfortunately, we do not seem to indulge it. One wonders whether some of the problems down here might have something to do with the fact that there are no more worlds to conquer. There is not much of our planet that has not been explored, either on foot or via satellite. The desire to find out what else is out there has dimmed somewhat, and we are worse as a species because of it. We do not venture much past our own backyards, and we do not really see the need. Why explore for new territory if we simply can run to the 7-11 for a frozen burrito? Nobody thinks much about colonization of other worlds from the Laz-E-Boy. There is not much desire to suffer heat, cold, and possible death in space when all we need can be found at Wal-Mart. It is time to shake off this lethargy before it kills us all.

We are at our best as a species when we have ambition. Our way of life has made us pretty complacent, but there is an entire universe out there waiting for us to see it. That would require some of us drop the remote, hit pause on the TEVO, and work a little bit. It would require throwing off slovenly contentment, and that seems hard to do unless the Laz-E-Boy is actually on fire. It would require us to turn out some scientists and mathematicians from increasingly substandard schools.

Just over our heads is a frontier of unimaginable proportions. Infinity is pretty darn big. Yet what are we doing to get out there and see some of it? Why do we not indulge the passion we all have to see new things? It is because we lack vision. We do not seem to need it anymore, and we are paying a price. Our school children are almost uneducated when they graduate, we are fat and slovenly, crime rates are escalating, and the world suddenly seems a whole lot smaller. We need to indulge our passion for exploration, if only to save our souls.

Forget for a moment what a boon to the spirit the space program could be. The tangible benefits of such a grand quest are not to be downplayed. Think about it. How much of the technology in our daily lives resulted from something the space program developed? Satellite communication, Teflon, titanium alloys, the list is almost too long to even contemplate. All these things came about in order to keep some astronaut alive in an environment that makes Antarctica look like a day at the beach. When we have a goal to work for, all sorts of great things seem to be discovered. Some are by design, but some of the greatest breakthroughs happen while looking for something else.

Just imagine what sort of technology our scientists and engineers could dream up, given the need. Imagine what America’s industry could mobilize to produce if the market were there. Think about how the economy would grow, think of the jobs created, and think about how much we would benefit from the new things discovered. Think about the physics breakthroughs that are just itching to be made. Entire industries could form around a revamped space program. It has happened before. The potential economic growth boggles the mind.

President Bush has given us a vision of the future. However, the benefits of working for that future could be felt in the here and now. There would be more jobs, more money, and more technological benefits. Science would expand its horizons, as we look to solve problems like crossing 36 million miles to Mars. The benefits to society as a whole are almost incalculable. We need something to shoot for as a species. However, realizing the vision would require a bit of work. Most worthy endeavors usually do. If we can get past the politics, the doubting Thomases, and the general laziness, the possibilities are literally infinite.

So what are we waiting for?