Posted on July 20, 2009, 10:22 pm by BuddytheRat
Today is the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing. Driving to and from work, I’ve been listening to the news reports and interviews, soaking in the reminiscence of a bygone era. To think, this all happened 20 years before I was even born. And then 20 years later still, the magic of that time and place seems distant, abstract, and alien.
We live in a different place now.
As I grew up, I could still feel the lingering hopes and expectations of my ancestors. Star Trek taught me of man’s need to journey outwardly, to discover new worlds. To go where no man has gone before. So then why does it seem like we’ve taken a huge step backwards? There is no more Star Trek. No more exploring. It feels like a world caught in the quagmire of its own muddled affairs. We can never seem to agree on even one ideal to pull with us into the future. Instead we stand here and debate, never acting, only worrying about how we should act.
But there is still exploring to do! You can’t just decide how things are, you have to see them for yourself! We must explore space, just as we must explore ourselves and our own world. To explore in any direction is to move forward. Perhaps the only way forward is to let go of all we already know. A knowledgeable man knows many things, but more than anything, he knows that there is much more he does not. We must abandon all preconceived notions. Even a flashlight hides from us the truth of darkness.
We must walk into the unknown, with fear always in our hearts, yet an undeniable urge to move ahead into that inky darkness of our futures.
(As a side note, as I was writing this post I have been listening to this audio feed of mission control communications during the lunar landing with ambient electronic music in the background. It is excellent and if you are working on any projects or just chilling in bed, give it a listen.)
