1969
"One small step for man, one large step for mankind" were the
words spoken by Neil Armstrong, on July 20, 1969. America had just landed (for
the first time) on the moon. At the time, I was driving on Nordoff St., in the
San Fernando Valley. I had to pull over to side of the road because of the
overwhelming sense of awe. Chills ran up and down my spine. A president had
said, "we are going to the moon" and we did.
Since the sixties, the country has had a half dozen recessions, a few wars, the assassinations of President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, the arrival of the VCR, microwave oven and the household computer. It's been a time of turbulence and change, to say the least.
1996
As we move toward the November election, one can't help but
notice that there is an unmistakable discord in the air. Something is churning
in the American spirit. There is the obvious tug of war going on between
Republicans and Democrats. But there's something else going on too. It's an
undeniable disillusionment with the ways things are going on in Washington. We
see nightly news broadcasts of drug and crime problems in our streets, and say
to ourselves that things have to change. Some twenty million people a week turn
to a particular radio talk show host to get information that doesn't seem to be
forthcoming from the mainstream media or from the White House. And millions of
Americans across the nation turn to third party candidates rather then staying
with the choices offered by the two party system.
It's been almost thirty years since we did the unthinkable, land a man on the moon. This was one of our last great dreams together as a nation. It's as though we've been marking time since then. Almost thirty years later and we can't even reach a consensus on balancing the budget, let alone where our next adventure will take us.
As a nation, we know that something isn't right. We just can't figure out where to go from here. We arm ourselves with facts, call into talk shows, tune into the Internet, complain about the lack of leadership, and get ready . . . get ready and then wait. While we wait, we hope . . . hope that a leader will emerge, a leader with a vision and the strength to see that vision through.
The politicians are lining up to offer their visions for our nation. The only question is, is it a great vision? Will this vision send chills up and down our collective spines if it's accomplished? Will it be an exciting journey on the way, a daring adventure? Will it unify us with a common purpose? If not, our collective voice should say "step out of the way, and make room for someone else", because it's time we do something great. It's time we take "one large step for mankind" once again. History is waiting . . . waiting to write another chapter . . . what that chapter is titled, is up to us.
Copyright 1996 by Robert Ross, All Rights Reserved
Robert Ross can be reached by E-mail at: SanDiegoRoss@Yahoo.com
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