We Went to the Moon
by Ross Elliot
There's a vicious little conspiracy theory about that maintains that Man never set foot on the moon. That it was a hoax. A lie.
It goes something like this:
The Cold War was in full swing. President Kennedy had committed the United States to a moon landing as a counter to the early Soviet space successes. However, NASA discovered that it was an impossible task. So they decided to fake it: to save face for America and to show superiority over the Soviets. With the full knowledge of thousands of officials, scientists, engineers, and, of course, the astronauts themselves, they filmed the moon landings on a massive lunar movie set. And they kept it a secret for 30 years.
Wow. Those NASA guys are good.
The evidence to "prove" this theory is contained in supposed photographic irregularities and in scientific anomalies. Books have been written. Television documentaries have been broadcast. Millions of dollars have been raked in.
And a gullible public, eager to swallow the latest sensation hook, line, and sinker, have fallen for it in droves. They have become disbelievers, doubters, cynics. Never mind the hundreds of kilos of moon rocks, rocks which do not exist on Earth, or the astronauts themselves--for they must all be complicit in the lie.
This stupidity is taken seriously. The "evidence" is recited, mantra-like, with complete disregard for the facts. This particular theory has gained widespread support--and not just among those who believe Elvis is alive and well and delivering pizzas for a living in Little Rock, Arkansas.
It's the same sort of ruse that has people believing that the ozone layer is thinning or that the polar ice is melting. It's based on half-truths, pseudo-science, conjecture and incredulity.
So, what's it all about? Well, on the surface it's a great way for charlatans to make lots of money off Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Ripe Suck, but there's also something deeper at play. This is an example of the revisionist method of historical analysis, where past events are reinterpreted in the dull light of modern cynicism and corrupt agenda.
The disturbing trend is that these crackpot theories aren't being perpetrated and believed by the loony left or the gothic greens, but by the average man in the street. A generation debilitated by bloated welfarism, public miseducation and political chicanery, yet protected and sustained by the abundance, freedom and security of capitalism, have come to regard reality as nothing more than a subjective assemblage of debatable opinions, as something to which they are not subject, as something they can disregard without consequence. Even the truth of recent history is up for grabs. Those who resist these trends are required to prove that reality exists, to reduce and disassemble the axiomatic, required to show that history is not a lie and to provide evidence, for instance, that we actually went to the moon. The tables have been turned. Reality has become unreal and subjectivity the only standard with which to judge--that is, to not judge.
Well, I for one know that Man, in all his glory, went to the moon; that it was his single greatest technological achievement, made possible by the abundance and discipline that freedom promotes; that during this time our science, technology, courage and ego reached a zenith to which they properly belong; that the sight of a beloved human standing on an inhospitable rock in a glorious white spacesuit, 250, 000 miles from his home, looking back to see, hanging in the starfield, the blue and green ball that gave birth to him, is the proper vision and purpose of humanity.
To prohibit that vision from the mind of Man, to seek to discredit it, and to sneer at those who celebrate it, is a terrible indictment on so many empty souls.
Well, Elvis is dead, the polar ice is not melting, the ozone layer is doing just fine, and Man went to the moon. And I hope one day we can find the courage to send him back--because reaching for the stars is mankind's proper destiny, and landing on the moon was not only a giant leap but a vital fulfillment of his promise.
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