Difference between revisions of "Space invaders from Hollywood"
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But science fiction offers much more than a soothing fantasy to cool the fevers of discontent. It also gives people something to hope for. It's hardly surprising that Carl Sagan, an astronomer, TV personality and current science-fiction author, basks in the love of the American populace. His curious pronunciations notwithstanding ("BILL-yuns and BILL-yuns"), Sagan is an indisputably intelligent, reasonable man who talks about the possibility of searching the stars for life. He advocates a manned mission to Mars. He keeps alive the national hope for exploration. | But science fiction offers much more than a soothing fantasy to cool the fevers of discontent. It also gives people something to hope for. It's hardly surprising that Carl Sagan, an astronomer, TV personality and current science-fiction author, basks in the love of the American populace. His curious pronunciations notwithstanding ("BILL-yuns and BILL-yuns"), Sagan is an indisputably intelligent, reasonable man who talks about the possibility of searching the stars for life. He advocates a manned mission to Mars. He keeps alive the national hope for exploration. | ||
| − | A few years ago, former Gemini and Apollo astronaut Jim McDivitt told me that the moon-race space program was important not because it led to the discovery of Teflon and Mylar but because it gave Americans something to fight for. After World War II, he said, we had a whole generation of Americans who needed to put their energies into something besides battle. A space race with the Russians proved to be the perfect, non-violent solution. What we really need now, he said, is a manned mission | + | A few years ago, former Gemini and Apollo astronaut Jim McDivitt told me that the moon-race space program was important not because it led to the discovery of Teflon and Mylar but because it gave Americans something to fight for. After World War II, he said, we had a whole generation of Americans who needed to put their energies into something besides battle. A space race with the Russians proved to be the perfect, non-violent solution. What we really need now, he said, is a manned mission to Mars. |
In the 1980s, when much of the Third World is rising in anger against the United States, there is a renewed need for peaceful combat. As in the '50s, relations with Russia are approaching Cold War status. Paranoia about the red menace in Nicaragua, the Mideast, Africa and even Europe is growing. Ever since Ayatollah Khomeini rubbed Uncle Sam's face in the dirt, there | In the 1980s, when much of the Third World is rising in anger against the United States, there is a renewed need for peaceful combat. As in the '50s, relations with Russia are approaching Cold War status. Paranoia about the red menace in Nicaragua, the Mideast, Africa and even Europe is growing. Ever since Ayatollah Khomeini rubbed Uncle Sam's face in the dirt, there | ||
