Real Clear Politics Will China's Moon Landing Spur U.S. into Action? Posted by _Alex Berezow_ (http://www.realclearworld.com/authors/alex_berezow/) on December 16, 2013
_China_ (http://realclearworld.com/topic/around_the_world/china/?utm_source=rcw&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=rcwautolink) has officially joined the "_Moon Landing Club_ (http://www.space.com/23968-china-moon-rover-historic-lunar-landing.html) ," which, until Saturday, was the exclusive domain of the _United States_ (http://realclearworld.com/topic/around_the_world/united_states/?utm_source=rcw&utm_medium=link&utm_campaig n=rcwautolink) and the former Soviet Union. China's rover will now putter around, doing what such missions are typically designed to do: taking lots of pictures and analyzing lunar dirt, more scientifically referred to as regolith. It may be tempting for Americans to think, "Been there, done that." However, China is now envisioning the very same sort of ambitious megaprojects that the U.S. once dreamt of more than 50 years ago, when President John F. Kennedy urged America to "commit itself to achieving the goal ... of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." For instance, China hopes to mine the moon for natural resources and to use it as a staging ground for further space exploration, although some believe the former goal is unrealistic because the _cost is likely to exceed the value of the materials_ (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1381438/chinas-moon-mining-dream-called-pie-sky) . Still, China's wild-eyed aspirations are inspiring. It should make us yearn for the days when we, too, thought we could do anything. But those days now seem so long ago. Indeed, the _latest Rasmussen poll_ (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/america_s_best_days) finds that 52 percent of Americans think that our best days are behind us. What happened? It appears that years of poor governance -- spanning at least two presidential administrations -- combined with a lackluster economy have sapped Americans of their optimism. The toxic, divisive nature of partisan politics has made Washington dysfunctional. As a result, Americans _hate Congress_ (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.ht ml) , _disapprove of President Obama_ (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html) and are, as The Economist _writes_ (http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21591180-americas-political-divisions-have-deeper-social-consequences-why-americans-are-so-angry) , at risk of becoming a "low-trust society" in which suspicion of others' motives eclipses the camaraderie that typically underpins the American attitude. This is not a recipe conducive to long-term success. In his _2011 State of the Union address_ (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-president-state-union-address) , President Obama called for a new "Sputnik moment." [ After sabotaging NASA] Similar to how Americans once rallied to beat the Soviets to the moon, Mr. Obama wants us to revitalize our commitment to science and technology. But like most of his lofty speeches, this entreaty was soon forgotten. Perhaps the stark reality of a zealous and determined China will finally reinvigorate our dejected national spirit. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
