I did watch the Space Shuttle Atlantis return to earth in the wee small hours of the morning this day, July 21,2011.  As the landing gear hit the tarmac I felt great pride in what my country has accomplished in the space program and remember John F. Kennedy's speech in which he exorted the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade in the 1960s.  We did that!  On a July day in 1969, Neil Armstrong went down the ladder and planted man's footprint on the lunar surface for the first time.  "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" were the words heard around the planet and, to this day, those words remain the quiessential quote of the space program even above the Apollo 13 call "Houston, we have a problem".  I remember the feeling from 1969 when I watched this event unfold on television.  I was very proud of Neil Armstrong, very proud of my country, and very proud of our space program. I looked forward, with great anticipation, to that "giant leap for mankind" which, in my mind, meant that we would continue to explore space, perhaps a colony on the moon, or even venture to Mars and beyond.  Moreover, I hoped that giant leap would mean an improvement on the planet on which we all still find ourselves.

To me, a giant leap for mankind means that we could, as a planet,learn to live in peace throughout the world.  Rather than do so, we are, as a country, engaged in three ongoing wars with no end in sight although this President is saying he is bringing the troops home.  We have countries in which revolt is happening against governments, some rightfully so, and we have genocide atroscities in several nations.  We have not learned to live in peace.  We have not even learned to co-exist with one another.  Mankind is failing the planet miserably and I'm not talking about global warming, going green, conversation, or whatever, simply that mankind needs to take that giant leap and find a way to live together on the only planet we have, at least so far.

I have been to the Kennedy Space Center, spent a day there and explored all it had to offer, including the reinactment of the moon landing.  I went aboard the Space Shuttle they have as an exhibit and wondered at the size of it compared to what I believed the size to be.  It was a day well spent and, at the time, I was unaware that our Space Shuttle Program would be ending.  I was hoping for further space exploration and, perhaps, going on to the stars as so many science fiction adventures in books and movies led me to believe could happen in reality.

But my government, indeed all of mankind, seems more inclined to leap off a cliff to oblivion than to make the "giant leap" of which Neil Armstrong spoke.  Pity us. Pity yourself.  We have all failed, and continue to fail, in that noble effort.  Where is the hope of humanity these days?  It is not in Asia.  It is not in the Middle East.  It is not in Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, Canada, and, sadly, at this writing, not in my country.  We continue to be lied to by government, led astray by a media society so biased as to evade the truth, and continue to muddle along from day to day in some trance induced by the lies we're fed.

The space program was a great hope.  It was, in my eyes, the shining accomplishment of the 20th century when, even though there was war in Viet Nam, there was a hope for brighter things to come.  I still have that hope.  I still believe that mankind will take that giant leap.  The moon, as brilliant as it is, only reflects the light of the sun.  I think we, as humanity, need to make the light, not reflect it.  We need to be the generator of energy for improvement rather than a reflector of diminishing light from governments that are running amuck. 

The Atlantis rolled to a stop this morning on the tarmac in Florida.  Let the world take pride in what was accomplished through the shuttle program while, at the same time, take stock in what next we need to do  to make our world what it should be for future generations.   Forgive The Hammer for being a little soft and sentimental this morning, but I don't like endings.  I'm much better with beginnings.

D. C. Hammer