
In the current economic climate, calling my community "settled" is a far cry from reality.
Whatever your notions about America's space program, pro or con, or its relative value in the national tapestry of endeavors which demand the power of government to support it - an age is ending.
What happens next is very much an open question. It may be true that the United States is willing to yield front-runner status at the forefront of the final frontier, curling instead into an eggshell of bankrupt institutions only aggravated by an ironic turn towards ever larger socialism, and hence more bankruptcy, on the part of a people not entirely stupid - but misled.
The fundamental facts of our economic crisis are not that complicated. It comes down to policies that pander to those who are weak and willing to be led by the nose. It comes down to the uninformed willing to give up hard-won rights to politicians who promise them cradle-to-grave nurturing without any idea of a "mutual contract."
But now, if you witness a neighbor who has more than you, it is not fair. Income is a miraculous blessing falling upon the unworthy and must be dealt with, meaning stolen, and with much arm-waving, apparently redistributed (at let us say a 75% inefficiency fee) to the less fortunate, whether they be citizens or not, as long as they can vote.
In the larger dimension, we have yet to truly witness the cost and impact of years of this kind of thinking. It's only getting worse, flagrant promises of everything from universal magical health care by government to job manufacture by government to education by government, and now - to the control of financial institutions by government.
So as the trillions and trillions of dollars in unfunded liability continue to mount, dooming anyone under the age of twenty-five now, gasoline on the fire, a heart-testing conclusion might be drawn that those essential matters which really require government support as a reflection of nation will - well these are lost.
And by "these," I mean a strong military to defend us from the envious and hate-filled eyes of zealots who want to see western civilization destroyed.
By "these," I imply preserving the institutions of law for justice as opposed to infiltrating it with a cancerous, entrenched, Godless aristocracy.
And by "these," I also include support of scientific research, not just into space, but across a wide field of disciplines (if that word even means anything anymore) whose common goal continues to direct itself towards turning back the puzzling structure of nature, of medicine, of sociology, psychology, energy, and non-agenda-driven models of understanding who we are, what we are, where we live, and what form our beliefs and world view.
To me, this is a blend of God's revelation and the product of human discovery, which can never fundamentally contradict each other. Because when our fallible understanding appears to be at odds with a divine appreciation. Well that just means we have got it wrong yet again and start over.
You and I live in a time clouded by our closeness to the present moment.
We live in a pivotal, "paying the piper" time, striking across the national landscape in lightning bolts which seem to crack out of nowhere, blinding, terrifying. But in fact these "equalization of forces" have been building for thirty or more years, and to continue with the electrical metaphor, every potential finds current to reach a state of equilibrium.
My community, oriented largely around NASA, is one to feel the consequences of our national distraction. And when combined with forces of nature, like hurricanes, which remind us who is really boss and it's not Al Gore - we may not be in a depression yet like the 30's dustbowl, which I'll bet less than 5% of kids under the age of 18 can even define, this represents a test of will.
I just met with an insurance adjustor, for instance, to combat the physical damage of a storm as we discuss wider damage in the national and global sense.
So we shall watch the Chinese spacewalk this week on page thirteen of a web site whose top story is "Dancing with Married Housewives."
Some might read about the European super-collider under the hills of Switzerland, or laugh at Leno jokes about customer support tech folks in India.
The rest of the world, meaning 95% of those now living, will surely just stand still and watch American self-destruct, gobble up our movies while buying treasury bills. No problem. We are immune from disaster.
And politicians who prey on our fears with beguilingly liquid-smooth snake oil baby chants, well we shall continue to grant them more and more power until it's too late.
Relative values - a foundation of sand.
And in the wake, which most of us are still young enough to experience in a future not so far away, we'll lose through our own freedom of choice, the freedom of choice.
I don't have a solution, nor wish to disregard sources of hope and optimism. I am just calling it as I see it.
Many times in history, people thought they were at the end of days. We are coming upon one of those times again.
And as Bogie said in "Casablanca," maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.
And with that, God bless the National Football League and the embrace of first hints of Fall. A cool morning with SunnyD and deaf dog happily prancing along the sidewalk, grasp and grass of his window on the universe. I wonder if our own view is essentially much different.