It was 53 years ago today that the Soviet Union launched Sputnik-I into orbit atop a launch vehicle originally designed to lob an intercontinental ballistic missile at the United States.
In less than a dozen years, the US responded by developing scores of new technologies, culminating in the Apollo program that successfully landed men on the moon and returned them safely to earth.
I like to use this example when I hear claims that the federal government is a huge, incompetent bureaucracy incapable of managing complex challenges.
But what would happen if we were faced with a similar challenge today?
It's difficult to be optimistic, given the condition of our schools and the loss of most of our manufacturing capability. Worse, the American spirit, once concerned with the quaint concept of "the greater good," has been transmogrified. It now seems to consist of nothing more than for-profit jingoism. Our national goal is for individuals to make a fortune with minimal effort- preferably by playing the system- while avoiding the payment of taxes.
While watching satellite tv, of course.
Categories: KGB Opinion
Subscribe
[Home]
[Commentwear]
[E-Mail KGB]
Older entries, Archives and Categories Top of page
