Monday is the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong becoming the first man on the moon and making America the first – and to this day the only – nation to achieve such a magnificent and technologically challenging feat. This anniversary comes amid renewed talk of a new U.S. space program with a goal of returning to the moon.
But there was something even more important behind the moon shot of 1969 than the billions of dollars, thousands of incredibly capable scientists and engineers, and advanced technology. There was will to dream the biggest dreams and a national character capable of realizing those dreams.
I was reminded of this fact today while re-reading JFK’s famous “Why does Rice play Texas” speech in Houston defending his decision to commit America to the Moon project. There is a passage that could not have been uttered without the assumption of American exceptionalism.
Note that JFK was responding to critics who said there was no reason to go to the Moon. (The emphasis in the passage is mine):
“So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of Houston, this state of Texas, this country of the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward–and so will space.
“William Bradford, speaking in 1630 of the founding of the Plymouth Bay Colony, said that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage.
“If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.
“Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it–we mean to lead it.
“For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.
“Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world’s leading space-faring nation.”
Can you imagine Barack “Other nations believe they are exceptional, too” Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi making such a bold statement about this country?
You can read the entire text of JFK’s address here.
And here’s something else to ponder this weekend – Assuming we did somehow summon the will and decided to return to the Moon, does America still have the financial strength to do so? The federal deficit just for this year sailed past $1 trillion last week and there’s still five months left before New Year’s Day. And even if Uncle Sam somehow found a balanced budget in 2010, the national debt is headed to $14 trillion from the present $8 trillion, based on the Obama White House projections.
