I’d expect a plurality of people to mock a “lunar mining” proposal. Or at least dismiss it as not interesting or unserious.
We live in a cynical, self-centered age.
And to the modern liberal mind, any outer space talk is clear cut evidence of a conservative candidate’s detachment from reality. I could picture the headlines and talking points after Saturday night’s GOP debate before they were even printed and posted on Sunday morning: “When single mothers and little old ladies can’t heat their homes this winter, how could Republicans waste time on science fiction?”
Newly-minted GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich doesn’t accept that premise. Nor should he. The former speaker came out in support of mining the moon at the latest Iowa presidential debate; for Newt, it’s a good example of an endeavor warranting government assistance at least in the initial phases.
History supports his position. In another era, gutsy politicians like Newt Gingrich led nations onward to grand things. Things that, taken at face value, must have seemed somewhat nutty to their contemporaries.
Like traveling across a vast sea on a presumably “flat” planet in search of new worlds. Or building a mighty canal across a continent to connect oceans. And putting men on the surface of the moon itself! All government financed projects. Each did more to advance human development than any social program on record.
But somewhere along the way our priorities got knocked out of whack. When did we stop looking at the stars in favor of subsidizing multivitamins? Besides the raw waste of human capital, the greatest casualty of big government is the human imagination, Save Jerseyans!
It’s incredibly hard for politicians to discuss the truly big issues facing mankind when their reelection depends on buying vote with massive entitlement proposals, prescription drug plans, and pork barrel spending projects. The end result speaks ill of our future prospects. We’re blowing through cash on ObamaCare while simultaneously gutting NASA? It’s gross. And stupid. If aliens from another planet analyzed these decisions, they’d no doubt conclude we were a civilization in decline!
That’s why Newt deserves praise – not ridicule – for attempting to restore perspective to an increasingly myopic public discourse. It’s badly needs. It would also provide a strong, winnable contrast in the November 2012 general election.
