The fevered talk that erupted in America not long ago about being an
exceptional nation has abated somewhat thus yielding the opportunity to discuss
the subject matter in a calmer atmosphere. The idea is to find out where the
sense of being exceptional has come from, identify the ways by which it
manifests itself, and determine where that sense, if it persists, might lead
the nation.
To feel exceptional is part of one's character; in this case
the national character. Because a nation is a vast and complex undertaking, it
has an infinite number of aspects which are open for examination. In doing so,
every observer has a favorite aspect they would want to examine, and mine is America 's space
exploration. This being an aspect where I admire America , I feel no reservation
criticizing her where I believe she made mistakes.
Thus, I acknowledge that America won the race to send a man
to the moon and bring him back safely to earth in the decade of the 1960s, but
I ask who did she race against? Looking back at the subject, you will not be
surprised to know that she ran against herself because there was no one else in
the running at the time. And yet, if you were around then, you would have
thought that the Soviet Union was in the race
too. In fact, if you had your eyes and ears open to the American declarations,
you would have thought that the race to the moon was an existential concern for
America
and the entire “Free World.”
As to the Soviets, they gave away not a single hint that
they were in the race to the moon against America . They were first to put a
satellite into orbit around the earth; and had a few other firsts, most notably
the sending into space of the first mammal (a dog), then a human male and then
a human female. They were also first to crash a capsule on the moon, to land
one on it, to have a rover roam its surface and bring to earth samples of the
rocks it was programed to collect.
By then the Soviets had determined it was not worth spending
the billions it would take to send a man to the moon for, the effort would have
added not a thing to their knowledge of space science. And so, they let the
Americans continue their solo race to the moon while they concentrated on
sending exploration satellites to other planets, most notably Venus. They also
studied the possibility of placing a permanent station into space around the
earth, and the building of a shuttle to ferry cargo and passengers back and
forth. They determined that the space station was a good idea, and so they
maintained it. As to the shuttle, they determined it was not such a good idea,
and they scrapped it.
By contrast, America
had a shuttle program that proved to be less than the success it was hoped for,
the reason why she must now hitch a ride to the international space station
aboard rockets from Russia –
successor to the Soviet Union . With regard to
the space station, America
has contributed to its construction as did many nations, but the idea grew out
of a Soviet project. What all this means in the final analysis is that the
Americans are prone to hurt themselves because of a competitive spirit that can
get out of hand. When this happens, they are gripped by it with such intensity;
they fail to notice they are running alone with nothing around but their
shadow.
Technically advanced, the Americans are mature in all
related fields as much as anyone can be. Where they lag behind is in the field
of political and social maturity – that which makes a good part of a nation's
cultural heritage. Thus, while their space program dazzled the world with
brilliant technical achievements, they find themselves grounded like a mighty
eagle with broken wings. And they remain grounded not because they lack the
expertise to spread their wings again and soar to new heights but because the
decision making process that brought them to this point was depleted of energy
as they ran the many races against themselves.
Unfortunately, the Americans still do not see that a spirit
which is too competitive can be destructive in some situations even though it
may be constructive in others. There was a time when things were going so well
for them, the spirit that animated them counted as an advantage. But now that
the world has changed, their overly competitive spirit is working against them,
causing them damage they cannot begin to assess. An example of this would be an
area where they believe they are so exceptional, they have the duty to force
their system of governance on others even if they remain so gridlocked at home,
they have become the joke of the planet. So where does that leave them?
Well, the space program and other technical achievements
have been America 's
saving grace up to now. But other nations are catching up in those fields,
which means that the number of exceptional people who used to leave their
homeland to go look for a better opportunity in America is dwindling because these
people find the opportunities at home. The result will be that the saving
graces which used to bail out America
will continue to diminish with the passage of time. To save itself, America will
have to show a modicum of grace when dealing with the rest of the world. And
the place to start would be the subject of self governance.
Get your house in order, America