Dare to Dream Again

Like millions of Americans, I sat in front of my TV and watched transfixed as NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Cape Canaveral, FL. on its final mission on July 9, 2011.

In the 30 years since the shuttle program began, the frequency with which NASA has been sending shuttles into space has, not surprisingly, dulled the sense of expectation and excitement around each take-off. Success, after all, when repeated often enough becomes the norm.

The success of NASA’s shuttle missions is probably its biggest thorn-in-the-side as well. Space is no longer as big a mystery as it once was. We’ve landed man on the moon multiple times and we’ve sent unmanned space-crafts to Mars and beyond. We’ve captured images of a billion stars and celestial bodies millions of light years away. We’ve learned enough to demote Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf-planet, smaller than Earth’s moon. As a consequence of the regularity of our successes and discoveries, we have lost the sense of wonderment and the desire to conquer new boundaries in space. The fantasies of Star Trek like space voyagers and adventures no longer speaks to new generation in the same way as it did to ours. Space adventures, like old playthings and story books, will fade into the past.

Over time, our quest to win the space race (with the Russians) evolved into more than just putting a man into space or landing on the moon. The space program gave our mathematicians, scientist and researchers purpose and opportunity to test new theories, new designs, new materials, and new medical research, and as a result, it allowed America to develop technologies that have given it the leadership position in science and engineering.

No other nation that has sent a man into space has launched a reusable spacecraft as beautifully designed and as versatile as NASA’s space shuttles, and, given the economic uncertainties around the globe, it is quite unlikely that any nation will in any time soon. Sadly, with the US national debt about to hit the $14.29 trillion debt ceiling by August 2, 2011, it is also unlikely that we will come up with a replacement to the shuttle craft anytime soon either. Our political leaders can’t even agree on investing in infrastructures on the ground so it is hard to imagine them getting their minds around something as abstract as space.

When we are told on a daily basis that social programs that have been put into place to benefit the elderly or the poor have to be cut, and raising taxes are out of the question, how can we imagine our political leaders finding the funding to save the space program?

If there is no space program, where will our next generation of new, cutting-edge technologies evolve from? What will happen to America’s leadership in the field of science and technology?

People around the globe send their children to study in US schools in the hope that they will be able to gain some of that scientific knowledge and know-how. They want their kids to be immersed in culture of diversity in America and to soak in the intangibles that make America great – the ability to think outside the box, to come up with unconventional solutions, to push the boundaries of what is possible, and to find success out of failures. More than just the educational credentials, they want their kids to acquire the American daring and belief – the relentless pursuit of faster, higher and better.

The American sense of national pride and shared sacrifice once propelled the nation forward at break-neck speeds but it is quickly being overtaken by a number of developing Asian countries. It is not surprising that they are the ones currently with a strong sense of national pride. With determination, investment and sacrifice, they have put into place superfast trains, ultra-modern airports, and broadband Internet capabilities that far exceeds what we have in the US.

America’s lead position in science and technological advances will continue to ebb unless we dare to dream big again and the American sense of individuality is matched by a sense of unity and strength. Our desire to do well individually should not and must not diminish our sense of need for doing well as a nation, a collection of people with a common purpose.

Great leaders lead the way by setting goals and by being able to inspire the nation into imagining the future and investing in that future. America’s leaders cannot afford to be short-sighted, focusing only on the near term. America’s leaders must dare to dream again. They must be bold enough to imagine what future looks like and they must be able to explain the investment and sacrifice needed for the nation to arrive at that future.