One of the benefits of the early days of the space race was that it gave every American a role to play; as was the case during World War II, it created an ethic of shared sacrifice. Reagan's conservative philosophy thwarted this. In place of the benevolent community he substituted blind faith in the free market. The notion of common good was subverted to the maxim "what's in it for me?"
Armed with this new cynicism, parents no longer encouraged their children to go to school with the aim of ultimately giving back to the community. Where in the fifties and sixties students imagined becoming engineers and teachers, in the eighties and nineties students dreamed of becoming investment bankers and property developers. A bright mathematics student who in an earlier era thought about contributing to the space program now imagined a lucrative job on Wall Street, fabricating an exotic derivative.
American optimism receded. Polls indicate that a strong majority of Americans feel the US is now headed in the wrong direction; many suspect that our best days are behind us.
Nonetheless, the United States remains a great nation with many strengths including resilience. The space program is dead, but that doesn't mean our spirit has to go down with it.
What's needed is inspirational leadership. America needs to resurrect the benevolent community and take on a new challenge. The Great Seal of the United States bears the dictum, "E Pluribus Unum," Out of many, one. That's the historic spirit of America that is needed now more than ever.
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