WHILE WE WERE SLEEPING
This past Friday the space shuttle Atlantis returned from a productive mission after docking with the space station, installing new solar panels, restocking the station with supplies, and returning to earth some of the revolving crew. Poor NASA. It seems they only get noticed when things go wrong. Any kind of disaster will bring weeks of non-stop coverage, but when things go right...yawn. This is emblematic of today's media, and sadly, of our culture as well. It all ties together in such a sly way that you don't really see it happening. Good news is coffee talk, bad news makes money.
As a long-time private pilot, I know just enough about aviation and aerodynamics to be continually impressed with the marvel that is our space program. Since John Kennedy set our sights on that goal, this country, with her greatest minds and talents, has made entry in and out of space almost routine. This is, and will always be, a remarkable feat of technology, courage and perseverance. When I fly commercially I am always amazed at the mundane attitude people have towards flying. It is an incredible combination of nuts and bolts, physics and talent that make it possible. In just over one hundred years we have come from Kitty Hawk to the space shuttle. That is truly astounding. Consider how different the world would be today had the ability to fly never been uncovered. Anyone who has flown and had a window seat should appreciate the depth of meaning in this special view. Even now, on cross country flights, I am moved almost to tears at the beauty of this country. The squared-off farmlands of the heartland, slowly changing to mountains and forest, the Rockies, the Grand Canyon, the endless inhospitable sprawl of the desert. It is simply beautiful and we are fortunate to be able to experience it.
More importantly, the space program (wasteful spending and bloated budgets notwithstanding) remains one of the most dynamic examples of American ingenuity. As we wallow around now trying to figure out how to stop illegal immigration, develop alternative energy sources, clean-up after Hurricane Katrina, and the myriad of other challenges that face us, we seem to be mired in the muck. What happened? What changed? President Kennedy offered the nation a challenge, and we accepted and performed. Challenges now seem to lead only into an endless gauntlet of paperwork, commitees, political squabling, vitriolic debate over the airwaves, and in the end...no product. I like to believe John McCain when he says our best days are ahead of us, but I have my doubts.
One place to start would be for more documentation and public notice when things go right and when people do good things. It is not unlikely that this causes more people to do good things, just as the coverage of school shootings and domestic violence always seems to help make someone else think it is a good idea. I wonder of there was a news channel dedicated exclusively to positive news, whether it be the war, domestic events, new inventions, whatever, if anyone would watch. It would be an interesting experiment. One cannot argue with ratings and if you're in the television business and ten times as many people want to know if Paris Hilton is in jail as opposed to breaking news on a new energy source, I guess you go with the Hilton story. However, it takes a bold person or organization to make the move. A friend of mine who posts regularly on the forum at this site suggested that NBC should have given the million dollars they offered her and given it to a family who llost a breadwinner in the war. A brilliant idea, and I think if NBC had done that, and all the positive coverage it would get, that others would follow suit, but, alas, there is no such courage in those venues.
So let's not lose sight of our great accomplishments. Somewhere, while we were sleeping, something good, something positive, occured somewhere. I only wish I knew where to find out what it was.
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