Will The Naysayers Now Prevail?

by Christopher G. Adamo

Another eleven months must still elapse before the world will have completed an entire century from the advent of powered flight. It was not all that long ago that those rickety, canvas covered contraptions first bounced briefly from the sands of Kitty Hawk. Amazingly though, human beings have flown in space for nearly half of the intervening years. So frequent have been humanity's ventures above the atmosphere during the past four decades that, to most people, the entire concept now seems mundane.

This is especially so to a generation among whom neither history nor technology are given their due in the schools, and to whom the dominant entertainment media portrays multiple interstellar treks within the course of a single movie episode, while allowing sufficient time for a few high-tech sword fights in between.

In one sense, it is unfortunate that each and every successful venture into earth orbit isn't regarded as the incredible feat which it actually is. But because the successes are regularly greeted with apathy, the public tends to remain detached from them, only connecting emotionally with the inevitable failures. Thus it was this past weekend when, for the first time in years, most of America noticed the existence of the Space Shuttle Columbia, but only after a catastrophic structural failure had instantly transformed it into a shower of debris over eastern Texas and Louisiana.

If designs were perfect, manufacturing processes were perfect, and the operation of such complicated hardware performed flawlessly, no such calamities would ever occur. But of course that isn't a realistic scenario. Thus, it is inevitable that, in the wake of this enormous tragedy, investigations will be conducted, blame fixed, and corrections implemented. Those armchair quarterbacks, who would be quick to point fingers, might do well to heed the wisdom of Apollo 13 commander James Lovell who, in his book "Lost Moon", explained that investigations invariably turned up a sequence of "smoking guns" which had lined up to cause the mishap.

Perhaps this horrific event will instigate a major shake up at NASA where, despite an amazing record of accomplishments, "dead weight" and inefficiency have undoubtedly encroached on its mission, as is always the case with any bureaucracy. And if such an administrative upheaval is deemed necessary, it will ultimately be good for NASA and thus, for the country.

Some are even suggesting that the Shuttle program needs to be scrapped in its entirety. New advances in space science might prove this to be the proper course of action, opening the door to the development of more advanced space transportation systems. But such a decision must be made on a technological basis, and not a political one.

However drastic are the measures necessary to restore reliability and confidence in America's space program, it should be clear that this entire approach is in absolute opposition to those who would simply curtail or end America's presence in space. It is every bit as predictable as it is reprehensible that many in Washington who neither credit America for its accomplishments nor laud its heritage, have been waiting in hopeful expectation of just such a disaster, so as to justify their past criticism and their demands that the monies allotted to NASA be redirected to their favorite social programs. Would that they might ever apply a tiny fraction of similar accountability to their failed, liberal social engineering as they are so willing to do in regards to the enormous efforts and accomplishments required to put human beings in space. And as they seek to discredit the space program in terms of its cost in human lives, perhaps they might likewise consider the lost and destroyed lives directly attributable to the hopelessness and squalor among those whose existence is entangled in government handouts.

How fortunate that, at this tumultuous time, America has a President who views the Columbia disaster as neither an occasion for grandstanding nor an opportunity to exploit heightened emotions in hopes of advancing an agenda. On the morning of the incident he somberly but calmly told the nation that a great tragedy had occurred. But he reassured America of the nature of this catastrophe as a setback and not a defeat. As a nation we will grieve over our misfortune. We will mourn the loss of life. We will find and fix the problem. And, on some shining day, not so many months distant, we will light the fires and go out there once again.

Growing up during the turbulent decades of the ‘60's and ‘70's, Christopher  Adamo saw, to his dismay, the nation's moral foundations being destroyed  before his very eyes. But even then he was a staunch Conservative at heart,  and rejected outright the tenets of America's counterculture revolution.

 After a hitch in the Air Force, where he specialized in airborne  electro- optical systems, he pursued a career in the field of aerospace,  working for major defense contractors in California, Florida, and Colorado. But his career plans abruptly changed during the industry-wide downsizing that followed the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Presently he is working in the field of industrial instrumentation in the state of Wyoming. Concurrently, he has become involved in that state's political process, attending state GOP conventions as a delegate, and serving as a member of the Wyoming Republican Central Committee. He has also aided in the candidacies of local legislators and state senators, as well as a U.S. Senator and Congresswoman.

From 1993 to 1996, he edited and wrote for “The Wyoming Christian”, the state newsletter for Christian Coalition of Wyoming. During that period, he developed an acute awareness of the harm being done to Conservatism by liberal activists within the Republican Party as well as the Democrats. This remains a favorite theme of his articles, which now appear as a regular feature on GOPUSA.