Posted by
Gerry Scully on Saturday, August 25, 2012 9:52:14 PM
On July 20, 1969.. Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon, speaking the
immortal words "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind",
words meant to inspire others, words to fire the imagination of
generations, words to unite a world, words to thank the team of thousands of men
and women he knew it took to get him to that moment in history, and words to
thank a young president John F. Kennedy (long since dead at the hands of an
assassin) who on the day of his inauguration in 1961 inspired Armstrong and
others with his words "ask not what your country can
do for you - ask what you can do for your country".....
And now here we are some 43 years later, on the day of Armstrong's death,
wondering what ever happened to that America of 43 years ago, the America that
seemed to produce endless heroes and hope, the America with endless opportunity
and hope for all, the America that stood upon the world stage as a beacon
for humanity's hopes, the America that afforded a young woman the opportunity to
live her life as she seen fit, and in doing so pass on her dislike for
our American way of life to her young son, a son who grew into a man with a deep
dislike for the America of Armstrong and Kennedy, a dislike so profound that
when he became president, he immediately set about the dismantling of the
"American Dream" and in doing so angered Neil Armstrong and others to write an
open letter to him urging that he reconsider what they called "Devastating
Policies" that would (and have) destroyed the American space program..
It's a sad day when any society loses a hero, and an even sadder day when
that same society loses the ability to produce them, and it'll be a shameful day
when this great hero is laid to rest with the last words spoken over him coming
from the only commander-in-chief Armstrong ever rebelled against.