I remember back in college watching an episode of the original "Star Trek" television show in a dorm lounge with a couple other students. After the episode ended, a woman sitting next to me said she had never understood the appeal of "Star Trek."
I thought for a moment and explained to her that, in the future as presented by "Star Trek," humanity had solved all the problems on the planet. On Earth there was no war, no disease, no racism, no sexism, no pollution, no hunger and no poverty. In fact, currency no longer existed.
What had brought this utopia about was contact with extraterrestrials. Once humanity learned that it wasn't alone in the universe the nations of the world put aside their differences and came together as one to join the United Federation of Planets. Humans would still need to defend Earth and the Federation against hostile species once in a while, but at least they would do it together.
"That's sounds stupid," the woman said. "Put on Jerry Springer."
Even after 45 years not everyone gets "Star Trek."
In fact, many people of my generation, Generation X, preferred "Star Wars" to "Star Trek." "Star Wars" introduced us to the wonder of space travel in 1977, during the lull between the end of the moon landings in 1972 and the start of the shuttle program in 1981.
"Star Wars" was the coolest thing that any of us had ever seen up to that point. Who didn't want to go zipping through space like Luke Skywalker in an X-Wing Fighter after watching that movie?
But while "Star Wars" and its two sequels were candy for the brain, as I grew older I realized that "Star Trek" and its sequel, "Star Trek: The Next Generation," were meat for the mind. In every episode of the two shows, capts. Kirk and Picard and their respective Enterprise crews warped around the galaxy fighting Klingons, seducing sexy aliens and repeatedly saving Earth from imminent disaster.
But, on another level, their adventures were explorations of contemporary American issues like racism, war, technology, theology, gender, culture, pollution and politics. Like all good science fiction, "Star Trek" held a mirror up to society.
Speaking of space travel, I am disappointed that President Barack Obama recently cancelled the Constellation program, the project initiated in 2004 by President George W. Bush to return Americans to the moon by 2020.
According to Obama, the program was too expensive, behind schedule and lacked enough innovation for 21st-century space travel.
The cancellation, combined with the pending end of the Space Shuttle program, means we will soon experience another lull in space exploration. While disappointed, I understand that - since we are currently fighting two wars and trying to recover from the Great Recession - space travel isn't one of our country's top priorities and won't be for a long time. But it should be. While it's important for us to keep one eye on the bottom line, it's even more important for us to keep the other on the stars.
One of the major problems with space travel is the expense. The Constellation program has already cost $9 billion to date, and it will cost another $2.5 billion to shut it down. It's difficult to justify spending this amount of money on space travel when there is so much current economic suffering in our country and in our world. Under such circumstances, is space travel even a moral endeavor?
It's not a new question. During the golden age of American space programs in the 1960s, we were simultaneously fighting the Vietnam and Cold wars. The upheaval brought about by cultural and social shifts caused deadly riots in cities like Los Angeles, Detroit and Newark, to name a few. But still we flew to the moon. Why? Because we could.
Curiosity has always been one of humanity's greatest strengths. Since time immemorial our ancestors have wanted to see what was on the other side of the river, or the mountain, or the ocean, or the world.
Coupled with our scientific prowess, curiosity can bring out the best in human nature. It can lead to cooperation, interdependence and unity among people and among nations to achieve unprecedented common goals. Space travel is vital to humanity because it helps move our species forward beyond the violence, ignorance and petty cultural, social and religious differences that still afflict us. Some of us need to go first so the rest can follow.
In his recent budget, Obama did propose adding $6 billion to NASA's budget over the next five years, and he announced he plans to give the private sector more of a role in future space programs. When I read that, my first thought was that soon NASA would be controlled by the Chinese government and Saudi princes. I guess I still need to overcome my own tribal instincts.
I still haven't lost my curiosity instinct, though. I hope we return men and women to the moon in my lifetime - and land on Mars, too. If we do, it means things just may be getting better for all of us back home on the good ole Earth.[[In-content Ad]]
