6 would like everyone to just take a few minutes during this day to be thankful that, 243 years ago, there we enough people who had the courage, foresight and bravery to establish this democratic republic we call the USA. For without them 6 will make this statement, the world would be a different place.
The other night as 6 was doing his usual watching of the TV, for those who don’t know how he accomplishes this feat, the objective is to not stay on one channel for more than 5 minutes at a time, thus being able to watch 20 “shows” in the time it takes most people to watch 1, ½ hour sitcom. Not to invoke my superior intelligence, but if one cannot figure out the show one is watching in 5 minutes, 6 feels bad for you. My real point is 6 saw on the discovery channel, or was it the History channel (who knows and then again who cares), that they are going to have a special on the Moon landing, to celebrate 50 years. This sure make 6 fell old. This always leads to the same old question: Where were you when we landed on the moon, or where were you when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan? or where were you when JFK was shot, or where were you when MLK was shot? Now most people miss the most important question: Where were you when John Lennon was shot? Now most of you will answer each of those questions very simply, I was not even born yet! For the others 6 questions their response. For you can’t even remember where you were the last time the Pirates won a game.
Well back to the main point the moon landing. Other than the obvious, this was a true world changing event. For what happened over night was all of the science fiction, astronomers, dreamers, and theologians, proclamations all of a sudden became plausible. All of a sudden our culture was being transformed before our eyes, JD Clampett, Charles Lane, Ben Cartwright, Andy Griffin, and Matt Dillon, were now being replaced by Will Robinson, Captain James T Kirk, H.A.L. and Oliver Wendell Douglas. People also had a big impact our values as a nation, the Beatles, Max Yasgur, Neil Armstrong, Monty Python, Charlie Manson, Saddam Hussein, Albert DeSalvo, Grace Slick, Anton Szandor LaVey, Malcolm X, and Movements: the Student Movement, Woman’s movement Civil Right Movement, Hippies and the counterculture. What a change one man’s step had on our world? The result of all of this were not answers, but more questions and additional layers of complexity This just caused people to ask the question, what is out in space? Are we alone in this world? Can we live on other planets? Actually a renewed focus on who created the world. Atheism along with all the other ism’s, took off in the USA just like that rocket to the moon. Over my life time, the value of Family, has change to the value of an individual, the golden rule is now gone, and my favorite, the US is now a salad bowl, not a melting pot. 6 is not saying that is good or bad, change comes as the world progress in time. 6 will say this, one thing does not seem to change.
This summer when you are sitting on the beach, take a few minutes and just look around. Everything you see was put here for a purpose, the sand the water, the trees, clouds, light, moisture laden air. Each of those things are the building blocks of life. Now that same day, go back down to the beach at night. What do you see, a whole new world. The moon, the planets the stars. Ask yourself this question, what make us think that is also not part of our world, or the building blocks of life? Way back 243 years ago, the USA extended what 500 miles to the west of the Atlantic Ocean? Beyond that we could see land “Stretching out far and wide, Keep Manhattan and give me that country side”, but it was many years later that we explored or as some would say exploited that land and its peoples.
No comments:
Post a Comment