Eh. Sorry. I guess I can kinda blame it on how history class just kinda middled around after 1949, and on my ingnorance.
Anyway, another person told me about my "wrong" usage of "Goldstein." Perhaps I should have changed the name into Eastasia, or something. My point was that the government often increases the threat of something, especially Asian countries. In my position, I don't see China as that much of a threat (but I am a bit ingnorant of many matters). However, it seems large parts of the government and populace think that China is the country that will lead us to the battle of Armageddon (After all, they are the only ones with enough men to match the biblical figures).
I know I won't be the last to say this, but I've gotta come out of this shell...
This news can be looked at in two ways. Either we (and like most Americans, I mean we as in we Americans) can be upset that our place in space is being challenged or we can be glad that our place in space is being challenged.
Now of course, the first manned mission is not that big. After all we did it back in the 40s. However, how soon will it be before some congressman (running for re-election, I bet) gets blue in the face screaming that we need to get ahead of the "evil Yellow Menace" or be doomed to be placed under the flag of Communism? After all that is what really promoted us back in 69.
Heck, this could be the start of a brand new cold war. It does seem that in Orwellian overtones that America can't do it's job without some Goldstein to grumble at... Once the USSR fell, it seems that we've been scrambling a bit to find one. We first looked at Hussein (sp?) then we looked at Terrorists like Bin-Ladin (sp?) and most recently, the Chinese.
But is this really bad? Let's say that China didn't launch the mission. In 7 years, I may have trouble finding a job with my Aerospace Engineering degree, after all why does NASA need another punk kid. If they did launch, there is a good chance that I'll be drafted into America's attempt to beat China to Mars. On the other hand, a cold war would give the government the excuse to keep the exploration ball in their court, which in the past few years has seemed to hold us back, IMO.
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Eh. Sorry. I guess I can kinda blame it on how history class just kinda middled around after 1949, and on my ingnorance.
Anyway, another person told me about my "wrong" usage of "Goldstein." Perhaps I should have changed the name into Eastasia, or something. My point was that the government often increases the threat of something, especially Asian countries. In my position, I don't see China as that much of a threat (but I am a bit ingnorant of many matters). However, it seems large parts of the government and populace think that China is the country that will lead us to the battle of Armageddon (After all, they are the only ones with enough men to match the biblical figures).
Anyway, sorry for getting those dates wrong.
I know I won't be the last to say this, but I've gotta come out of this shell...
This news can be looked at in two ways. Either we (and like most Americans, I mean we as in we Americans) can be upset that our place in space is being challenged or we can be glad that our place in space is being challenged.
Now of course, the first manned mission is not that big. After all we did it back in the 40s. However, how soon will it be before some congressman (running for re-election, I bet) gets blue in the face screaming that we need to get ahead of the "evil Yellow Menace" or be doomed to be placed under the flag of Communism? After all that is what really promoted us back in 69.
Heck, this could be the start of a brand new cold war. It does seem that in Orwellian overtones that America can't do it's job without some Goldstein to grumble at... Once the USSR fell, it seems that we've been scrambling a bit to find one. We first looked at Hussein (sp?) then we looked at Terrorists like Bin-Ladin (sp?) and most recently, the Chinese.
But is this really bad? Let's say that China didn't launch the mission. In 7 years, I may have trouble finding a job with my Aerospace Engineering degree, after all why does NASA need another punk kid. If they did launch, there is a good chance that I'll be drafted into America's attempt to beat China to Mars. On the other hand, a cold war would give the government the excuse to keep the exploration ball in their court, which in the past few years has seemed to hold us back, IMO.
I don't know. I'll just have to see.