Space Exploration: American Freedom, Power, Leadership, and Exceptionalism

Yahoo Voices ^ | February 14, 2014 | Mark R. Whittington

[Marcus]

If there is any current example of American exceptionalism, that belief that the United States is a unique country, based around an idea rather than tribal affinities, it is its space program. No other country has had its citizens walk on the moon.

A self described "expert in communications" named Linda Billings takes a dim view of American exceptionalism as it is related to the high frontier of space. Indeed she takes an exception to the very idea of a space frontier. Her blog post is a look into how the liberal mind thinks about space issues.

[humblegunner]

Why excerpt?

[cripplecreek]

Seems that Billings takes issue with America having power on earth or in space.

The freedom is "bright-and-shiny." The power is "dark-and-jagged."

[Finny]

All I know is that superiority in space technology is required if America wants to remain the most powerful nation in the world. The nation that leads in space is going to be the nation that calls the shots on this planet.

Going to the moon was nice and everything, creating warm-and-fuzzies in people, but the truth is: American superiority in space is necessary for the preservation and advance of American freedom.

[cripplecreek]

Space is the high ground and all the treaties in the world won’t protect it so we may as well seize it or someone else will.

[Finny]

Yep. The nation that has superiority in space, WILL dominate in the world.

Tiny little Britain, barely as big as California alone, was able to build an empire on which "the sun never set" because it had superiority on the world's oceans. No matter how small the nation, the one that has technological superiority in space, will exercise the same dominance over every nation on this planet.

In my opinion, superiority in space should be a TOP PRIORITY for America.

[cripplecreek]

NASA should be dragged back to their original mission of pathfinding and prospecting while increasing their responsibility and funding through defense programs.

[Finny]

Amen.