Of course at the rate our education system is going, this will be the typical American in the future
Posted on 08/28/2012 6:20:39 AM PDT by shortstop
As long as mankind is a species of sentience and technology, as long as history is kept and read, the name of Neil A. Armstrong will be known.
It will be Columbus and Magellan and Armstrong, each leapfrogging the other in the innate human impulse to explore, remembered as long as man remembers.
Whether man walked out of Africa or was kicked out of Eden, he went where he’d never been, and his descendants did the same until the earth was peopled and the heavens were challenged.
Some walked across the Bering Strait, others rowed through the nothingness of the south Pacific, or hiked over mountains and swamps and deserts. We conquered this earth and Neil A. Armstrong was the first to conquer beyond.
And history will wonder at the way we ignored his passing.
When the names Romney and Obama have moldered into meaninglessness, school children will still learn the name of Armstrong and be inspired by what he did. His will be one of the greatest names of our era, one of the greatest men to ever live.
This man should have a state funeral.
This man should lie in state in the Capitol.
This man should have been afforded something other than the slightest of half-staff honors.
Yesterday, the president ordered the America flags at federal properties to be flown at half- staff on Friday, the day Neil A. Armstrong is buried.
That seems like a nice gesture, but it is such a slight gesture as to be insulting.
When Obama himself dies, for example, the flag will be lowered for 30 days. The Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House, would get 10 days, and if a member of the president’s cabinet were to die, the period of respect would be from the day of their death until the day of their burial.
If a member of Congress dies, the flags are lowered the day they die and the day that follows.
And the first man to walk on the moon gets half that.
It is an honor, but not really.
And it is emblematic of the disrespect being shown this hero in his death. He chose to live humbly, we have chosen to bury him ignobly.
Part of it could be that the one time he spoke up in criticism of a federal policy in all the years since he walked on the moon was just recently, when he harshly criticized the current president for essentially ending America’s manned space flight program.
Obama gets his revenge, but history will have the last say.
And history will understand what we cannot.
Six hundred million people around the world watched this man climb down a ladder on black-and-white television because they understood the significance of what he was doing. They knew they were witnessing history, and they wanted to be a part of it.
Today, we want no part of it.
We have lost the spine and the stones necessary to go new places, to solve hard problems and reach great heights. We are more concerned about not interrupting the welfare cheese than we are about being men and truly exploring.
We have been castrated by a new way of thinking and doing. Neil A. Armstrong rode a rocket of American might, but today’s NASA has specifically denounced any more all-American flights.
It would be arrogant for America to go to Mars or the Moon alone, NASA has said, so we would only go as part of a coalition.
Neil A. Armstrong’s coalition was him and Buzz and an army of crew-cut engineers.
While today’s space exploration consists of landing our seventh rover on the surface of Mars, and politely ignoring the fact that the Spanish weather equipment doesn’t work, the exploration of Armstrong’s era involved creating whole new technologies to go to a whole new place.
Perhaps we have ignored the passing of Neil A. Armstrong because we cannot live up to the legacy of Neil A. Armstrong. Perhaps looking back at him and his era makes us look weak and useless by comparison.
You don’t know how puny you are until you stand next to a giant, and Neil A. Armstrong was a giant. For what he did, and for what he represented.
And now he is gone.
And perhaps he took our soul with him.
Perhaps it’s been downhill since 1969.
He will inspire future generations, but mostly he is shaming ours.
By reminding us of who we used to be.
The US had “won” the space race and in the process had developed a lot of the technology we take for granted today. It was a time when crew-cut, pocket-protector wearing engineers and square-jawed test pilots ruled the earth.
Most of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts went about their post flight careers without the need to seek publicity. Armstrong was no exception. His was the ultimate accomplishment, but he chose to shun the limelight and live out his years as an academian.
If you've ever had the opportunity to visit the Armstrong museum in his hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio you'll find it is as he was; simple, purposeful, but not self-serving.
I did not know Neil Armstrong personally, but I've known many men like him. I doubt he would want the fanfare of a state funeral. Nor would he care if the flags were lowered to half-staff for 1 day or 30. It was never about him. He was one of many who just happened to draw the flight assignment that ended up on the moon.
The President can publish a picture of himself standing in silhouette. He can stare at the moon and the stars and offer up some prose (written by another) that attempts to show some link between a man of little accomplishment and one whose accomplishment will never be equaled.
But at the end of the day, when the President is no longer in office and largely forgotten, the lunar lander, the American flag, (tattered by solar winds) and the footprints of a true American hero will still be embedded in the lunar surface.
Rest in Peace Neil A. Armstrong. YOU will always be remembered.
I have enjoyed and own that excellent movie, "The Right Stuff", that is as good a movie on this topic and history as can be found. It is hard to believe that the Mercury Program Astronauts were named in 1959 and the last Mercury flight was Gordo Cooper's in 1965.
When you hear about rockets failing, even today, 50 years after the Mercury Program, it becomes more clear how dangerous these missions were. Yes, they were test pilots and knew the risks, but nevertheless, they are genuine HEROES!
And yes, Dilbert San Diego, I too can name them from memory and even their military affiliations as well. As a young Army Brat, I resented the fact that there were no Army Astronauts at that time. Somehow rotary wing test pilots didn't make the cut. Ah well!
As long as there is written history of mankind, Armstrong will be remembered regardless of what is taught to Americans during the 21st century. Armstrong setting foot on the moon is an immutable fact. His footprints are still there.
Well, you got me there. I didn’t know the military affiliations of the Mercury 7!!
They were all heroes. It was a different time back then. There was a lot of excitement back then about us going into space. Can’t think of anything going on nowadays which excites people that way.
I don't...
FTA..."He will inspire future generations, but mostly he is shaming ours.
"By reminding us of who we used to be.
Many in this generation don't want to be reminded of American exceptionalism. It's not so much about those who know of and admire Armstrong, it's what he and his generation REPRESENT. American ingenuity, individuality, exceptionalism, accomplishment, drive, desire, motivation, etc.
Armstrong represents many of the same characteristics that made America great. The same characteristics that many in today's society want swept under the rug as they destroy America.
Spot on Bob Lonsberry!
Who remembers the name of the brave sailor in Columbus' crew who first stepped ashore in the New World?
Are we sure that people 1,000 years from now won’t learn instead about Harvey Milk, “Chazz” Bono, and their ilk????
Of course at the rate our education system is going, this will be the typical American in the future
I hope you are right that Armstrong will be remembered.
I am concerned too, that the space program doesn’t seem to generate interest among many people anymore. So, I was also thinking that people in the future may not care that we had sent astronauts to the moon.
The Right Stuff....
I would love to see the flag raised to a higher height in celebration of a man as honorable as Neal Armstrong. Mourning does not become him...imho.
She shouldn’t even gotten a half-mast dedication. But with the current dictatorship, celebrities from entertainment are given first priority. What value do celebs add, nothing !
> Whitney Houston got nearly a week of having the flag at half staff. How does she rate above Neil Armstrong?
Whitney Houston got nearly a week of having the flag at half staff. How does she rate above Neil Armstrong?
Oh Lord. Whitney Houston ONLY received a state recognition at 1/2 staff. Obama is giving Armstrong FEDERAL recognition. If everyone is so concerned, why not get on the Governor’s butt?
Zero finally got to give NASA its comeuppance. I'm sure his homies are proud of him.
I think you need to study up a bit. There is quite a lot "out there" and some of it will be needed soon.
Not to mention - why continue spending trillions of taxpayer dollars to prove that nothing is out there?
Trillions on space? Really? I thought we only spent that kind of money on freebies for folks who won't work. If only we had that kind of commitment to something valuable.
Even then I was struck by his personal modesty.
I think Armstrong would have been embarrassed by a state funeral or comparisons to great explorers of the past.
Re: “We have lost the spine and the stones necessary to go new places...”
“We” in this case means government spending, or, more accurately, government debt.
America has trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities and thousands of credible research projects that are worthy of government funding.
NASA has a $15 billion budget, which is probably the largest non-military research budget in the history of the world.
Which government research budgets should be cut so NASA’s budget can be increased?
Have you any idea how many people that was? Even an inkling?
Everyone knows the big ones,but for every part Martin Marietta produced, five machine shops were contracted, raw materials were mined, refined, forged,or made into wire, substrates, rings, all of them being made to specific tolerances meaning quality control on each and every piece. Packaging made, shipments made.
Now times that by one thousand, the Boeings, the Lockheed's, the McDonnell Doug lases,and that's just the tip of the ice burg.
All the pieces required screws, nuts,bolts, washers,pins.
Think of all the tools, pencils, staplers,elastic bands and paper, tape, file cabinets, etc. etc. etc.
The impact reached far beyond Florida. All of them busy and buying food, hard goods, homes, automobiles, etc. etc. etc.
The inertia of this impact is still present.
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