The Story Surrounding Space
The Start of the Story
For as long as there have been humans, Man has looked to the night sky and wondered what existed beyond the stars. For thousands of years, we used religion and mythology as a suitable answer. Ancient civilizations either worshiped celestial bodies directly or at least thought the gods were inexplicably linked to them. Whether that means that the Sun god, Ra, rode a chariot across the sky or the Greek gods of Olympus lived beyond the clouds on the top of the mountain, looking down on us mere mortals…we thought we had the answers.
The Birth of a New Age
With the advent of the Scientific Revolution, the mystical mythos and alluring lore of the gods were replaced by…lifeless rocks and balls of gas.
No, but seriously, by using the telescope, we saw that we weren’t the center of the universe (seems like some people still haven’t gotten that memo) and through the scientific method, we inched closer toward the birth of something new…the Space Age.
Thanks to the Cold War (and the need to one-up each other all the time) the US and the USSR propelled us forward by launching space stations, satellites and even fellow men out of our atmosphere. With Gorbachev putting the collapsing empire out of its misery, it seems that there isn’t much incentive for space innovation anymore…but what we do this century will decide the fate of Mankind’s future.
The Bottleneck Century
So you must be wondering (and rightfully so) why the frick is a history-based blog blathering on about space travel? You didn’t sign up for this right? Well, if you haven’t figured out by now, I’m painfully aware of the creative freedom I have and you’ll just have to deal with that fact.
No, no…seriously, this specific post is dedicated to the history we can make right here, right now. A new age is dawning and many of us are painfully aware of how our decisions will affect the future trajectory of our kind.
Watch this 3-minute video to understand the gravity (you knew this pun was going to happen right?) of the current situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY59wZdCDo0&list=PL54F5B714853F4524&index=26
The Sky is the Limit…Literally!
Inspiring right? Gives you a fresh perspective? I hope so. I shared this video with you, dear readers, because for a minute… I was able to recapture that child-like sense of awe and wonder we all have seemed to lost along the way. The universe, who we are, and our future seems endless and full of potential.
All of the minutiae of daily life seemed to fade away…the perceived seriousness of our deadlines, our appointments, our petty troubles, and our self-imposed sense of importance, all paled in comparison to the sheer size and grandeur of a never-ending, ever-expanding universe…if only for a moment.
I hope you were able to get a taste of what I am talking about.
We are all playing a part in tomorrow’s future and I, for one, want to be on the right side of history. We get to decide if planet Earth will only be the beginning of something wonderful… the first, humble cradle we crawled out of in our vulnerable infancy or if it will be the final graveyard for our species, the final resting place for Mankind.
Amazing isn’t it? But with that sense of wonder, comes responsibility.
Making History
With the current political rhetoric, it seems like Humanity will never outgrow its petty rivalries and arbitrary divisions(“Let’s build a wall to keep those people who don’t like us out!”, etc) but videos like this one give me hope.
It makes me feel that all hope is not lost and that I am not alone; that there are others who share my aspirations for what Mankind’s future can be like.
As we head into the future, if we start giving just a little bit of crap about the health of our planet, about global warming and the welfare of our future generations, we can still make Sagan’s dream for our species a reality.
We are the Miracle.
We are the universe experiencing itself.
To be able to look at the litany of shining stars, to breath in the crisp night air and to be aware of it all is a miracle in of itself. What a shame would it be, if we let the flame of consciousness be extinguished so quickly? We might very well be the only beings capable of such complex thought alive in the entire universe. We might be the only flicking light, daring to burn brightly in a vast ocean of darkness and emptiness.
We owe it to ourselves and to the universe to fight for our right to exist and it’s time we worked together, as a single species, to ensure that we do not go gently into the night…
So next time, dear reader, when you find yourself walking beneath the stars, tell me…what do you see?
