COMMENTARY | I've long held out hope that one day soon mankind would go "boldly where no one has gone before." As a long time "Star Trek" nerd (a.k.a. Trekker), I was saddened when Atlantis landed. A history of space travel has come to an end. Now instead of the peaceful vision of a future highlighted by Gene Roddenberry, we have the possibility of a future of space commercialism as private firms take over launches and research.
The Space Race fueled "Star Trek" and, sometimes, vise-versa. Some people even chose their careers after being inspired by any of the five series. Inventors fashioned working gadgets after seeing them on the shows. The imagination and progression of the world as a whole is due in large part to the Space Race and "Star Trek" in general.
The pros from the end of the shuttle program is that the Space Race has really lost some fuel over time. I know that doesn't sound like a pro, so bear with me. When the United States was competing with the former Soviet Union, we worked steadily and made advances quickly. Over time, that race fizzled into a crawl. With private funding and the higher expectations that come along with it, we might actually see the light of further space exploration within the next 20 or so years. Everyday technology that comes from competition such as this will push the world into another techno age. This is ideal because, without the technological advances that a space race provides, the United States would be pushed behind other world powers.
But the cons make the outlook less promising. Roddenberry had a vision of a world that didn't thrive on monetary limitations. Instead of being driven by greed or the need for money, people were driven by their own goals of being the best they could be at whatever they wanted to be. Now companies that only have the bottom line to look at will take over where we've left off with the landing of Atlantis.
Not much good can come out of greed such as this. Think of the selfishness displayed in James Cameron's Avatar. Think about the rape of worlds over a natural resource. Think about a future of an overpopulated and dying Earth where, if you don't have enough money to travel away from it, you and your family are doomed to live by scraping by. That actually doesn't sound much different than the way life is these days. That isn't progression at all.
Overall, regardless of the pros, the end of the space shuttle program is a sad ending for Trekkers everywhere. But we hold out hope that it isn't an ending. Hopefully it is just a delay. In the meantime, "Star Trek" fans, live long and prosper. And keep imagining a better world.
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