One small step: why we must return to the moon
q by Andrew Yaksic Feature Editor

It has been 32 years since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) put a man on Earth's only natural satellite. In what was a great display of American technical superiority and a bold statement to the Soviet Union, the United States did what no civilization had ever done nor has done since. The United States sent a man to the moon.

Unfortunately, the ambition of the United States had been fading rapidly after the fall of the Soviet Union. There was no longer any reason to prove ourselves as the world's foremost superpower because we were the only superpower. Only those people who were watching their televisions on July 20, 1969 got to experience the Apollo 11 moon landing. Now, it is time to put another American on the moon.

Our present technology would permit people all over the world to see the moon landing as it unfolded, both on television and over the Internet. Our present capabilities for supporting life in extreme conditions would permit such a space traveler to conduct experiments and exist outside of the lunar module for much longer than was possible in 1969.

The United States government spent $13.6 billion on the space program last year. NASA lists only a few meager achievements in its report to the Bush administration. The space program is dying; a lunar landing would resuscitate it.

Not only is a lunar landing the most impressive technological feat that America has ever attempted, but it serves to validate those mantras and maxims that the older generations of Americans inculcate into the younger generations of Americans - that we must think big, reach for the stars, and follow our dreams. Landing on the moon would give us something to rally around; a real reason to feel proud to be an American.

To truly understand why we need to put a man on the moon, however, we must understand the context of the original moon landing. Protests against the involvement of nearly a half-million troops in Vietnam were culminating in 1969. The war that would leave over 58,000 American troops dead or missing had been going on for eight long years. The United States' economy was faltering and the citizens were in violent protest to the actions overseas.

In 2002, America is at war with terrorism. Our technological might has given us victory in Afghanistan with fewer than 10 casualties. Our economy is already faltering, however. The future course of the young nation is unknown. One can only hope that our war with terrorism and our hunt for Osama bin Laden does not turn into a conflict on the scale of Vietnam.

In 1969, Communism and the Soviet Union were in a Cold War with capitalism and the United States. Now, the Muslim fundamentalists who are vehemently anti-Israel are in an ideological war with the capitalist "monster" of the United States. One cannot expect ideologies to die without many of their followers dying with them.

Terrorism, theocracy, and war with America are all devastating. Demonstrating American superiority in a tangible way for the generations tha tmatter - today's generations, today's soldiers - would be the best way to expedite an end to ideological conflict. We cannot start an ideological war at this point in the history of civilization.

One wuld be surprised by the power of putting an American on the moon. It would inspire true patriotism that was not blind or violent. It is the best way - the only way - to show the Americans of 2002 that we can get to the moon and back. It is an example of what Americans can do - conquer space and the moon. Again.

However, this article garnered an award for Journalistic Excellence in the field of bylined columns from the New England Scholastic Press Association, no thanks to the editors who butchered it.

This piece ran with accompanying artwork by Douglas A. Gately.