Ayn Rand's "Apollo 11"

Monart Pon sent:
> Apollo 11, by Ayn Rand
> _The Objectivist_, September 1969
> [Excerpts]
> ...
> Nothing on earth or beyond it is closed to the power of man's
reason. Yes, reason could solve human problems -but nothing else on
earth or beyond it, can.
> This is the fundamental lesson to be learned from the triumph of
Apollo 11... If the lesson is learned in time, the flight of Apollo
11 will be the first achievement of a great new age; if not, it will
be a glorious last not forever, but for a long, long time to
come.

Sad commentary. Was the lesson learned?
Some of us saw. As I recall from O'Neill's book, the entire space
settlement thing started when O'Neill tasked a class to find a way
for high technology to help humankind. This in direct challenge to
the overwhelming sentiment around college campuses that technology
was -if not evil or responsible for our troubles- unable to acheive
anything meaningful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://chapters.marssociety.org/usa/dc/pdfSRC/MarsSociTest2001.pdf
Excerpt from Dr. Zubrin's Testimony to the Senate Veterans, HUD
Appropriations Subcommittee Regarding the NASA Budget for FY 2002

Our space program has been literally and figuratively going around
in circles since the end of the Apollo Program.
Few people under the age of 40 have any direct recollection of our
Nation's greatest technological and exploration achievement; landing
humans on the Moon.
In addition, more people are even beginning to deny that the Moon
landing ever took place. While this opinion used to be limited to
fringe elements of our society, it has now become mainstream.
Earlier this year, the Fox Network aired a program that claimed that
the Moon landing was a hoax. An estimated 20 million people watched
this program. It was so popular that the network aired it for a
second time, several weeks later. Since then, teachers around the
country have been forced to do damage control, responding to many of
their students who now believe that the Moon landing was a hoax.
Should we be surprised by this phenomenon? Absolutely not! In the
late 1960s and early 1970s, the possibilities in space exploration
looked limitless. What should have been one giant leap for mankind,
the Moon landings have turned out to be just a few small steps. After
launching the Nation, and the world, into what looked like our
greatest age of exploration and learning, we retreated and have never
returned.
We now need to engage in a new and great age of exploration and
discovery -- an age that will again inspire our Nation and the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In "Entering Space" Zubrin wrote (another) statement about how we,
as a nation and a civilization, are ready to go on.
Something to the point that during the dark ages and especially
towards the end of the first millennium, people lived in fear & doubt
about the possible future. Apocalyptic movements were rampant &
frequent. Very few lasting acheivements were made -no stone buildings
over 2 stories were attempted.
After the millennium ended, there seems to have been a collective
sigh of relief; We'd made it! Immense cathedrals sprung up all over
Europe.
Now is a similar time. After the furor over the 2nd millennium's
end, we're also entering a new era, and maybe it's the right time for
new 'cathedrals' to be begun.

I categorically reject the notion that the present 'war' means we
should stop. Quite the reverse, actually.