moon landings

With all the hype about global unity as billions watched in July 1969, did
it and
the other landings really unify and affect a "speedy" end to the Vietnam
mistake
at the time?

With all the hype about global unity as
billions watched in July 1969, did it and
the other landings really unify and affect
a "speedy" end to the Vietnam mistake
at the time?

No. The moon landings had little or no effect on the war in Vietnam, or
world peace in general. People everywhere kept right on killing each
other, in wars that made the evening news and many that didn't.
The moon landings were the culmination of a political/technological
competition between two major ideological adversaries. It was a
spectacular achievement though, and it gave some indication of things
that we as a species could accomplish. A thousand years from now, the
only thing most people will know of from our time will be the moon
landings. Hopefully, in time, people will reflect on such things and
learn.
Marty

I watched "In the shadow of the moon " and came out with an impression of
how
couldn't such achievment help motivate the globe to come together and lay
away
differences. It's too bad such a movie wasn't made in the early '70's or
right after the
first landing. They had the means.


"Marty" wrote in message
...
With all the hype about global unity as
billions watched in July 1969, did it and
the other landings really unify and affect
a "speedy" end to the Vietnam mistake
at the time?

No. The moon landings had little or no effect on the war in Vietnam, or
world peace in general. People everywhere kept right on killing each
other, in wars that made the evening news and many that didn't.
The moon landings were the culmination of a political/technological
competition between two major ideological adversaries. It was a
spectacular achievement though, and it gave some indication of things
that we as a species could accomplish. A thousand years from now, the
only thing most people will know of from our time will be the moon
landings. Hopefully, in time, people will reflect on such things and
learn.
Marty

In article ,
Marty wrote:
With all the hype about global unity as
billions watched in July 1969, did it and
the other landings really unify and affect
a "speedy" end to the Vietnam mistake
at the time?

No. The moon landings had little or no effect on the war in Vietnam, or
world peace in general. People everywhere kept right on killing each
other, in wars that made the evening news and many that didn't.

If the space race hadn't happened, there could have been a more
intence nuclear arms race instead, which could have affected world
peace a lot. Anyway, since that didn't happen, we don't know what
would have replaced the space race if there had been no space race.
Which means we cannot exclude this possibility.

Btw that's the major weakness with many "what-if" scenarious: since
that "if" didn't happen, we can only guess about the consequences
if it had happened.


The moon landings were the culmination of a political/technological
competition between two major ideological adversaries. It was a
spectacular achievement though, and it gave some indication of things
that we as a species could accomplish. A thousand years from now, the
only thing most people will know of from our time will be the moon
landings. Hopefully, in time, people will reflect on such things and
learn.
Marty



--
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN
e-mail: pausch at stjarnhimlen dot se
WWW: http://stjarnhimlen.se/

Paul Schlyter was saying
If the space race hadn't happened, there
could have been a more intence nuclear
arms race instead, which could have
affected world peace a lot. Anyway,
since that didn't happen, we don't know
what would have replaced the space
race if there had been no space race.
Which means we cannot exclude this
possibility.

Oh, I agree FULLY. It was much better to have the two superpowers
racing to the moon than duking it out in most other ways. And it all
led to one of mankind's most spectacular technological achievements...
the realization of a dream as old as the human ability to dream. My
only point is that it DIDN'T shorten the war in Vietnam in any way, and
people all over the world still felt the need to go to war for all of
the usual reasons.
The achievement still stands though, as an example of what
humankind can accomplish. Maybe someday...
Marty

On 4 Jul., 22:42, (Marty) wrote:

* * *The achievement still stands though, as an example of what
humankind can accomplish. *Maybe someday...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * Marty


Isn't it fascinating how two completely different but opposite
extremes of political ideology still achieved space travel despite
themselves?

Just imagine what the human race could achieve without Russia and
America holding us permanently in the dark ages.

Both equally corrupt. Both capable of great things, but ruled by
rogues who make Mugabe look like he could walk on water and still
provide a fake Rolex for every man women and child in his care.

Hopefully America can scrape Bush off its heel but it will never
recover its false pride again. It is much too late and the injuries he
caused are fatal.

Putin's own limitless greed will be his undoing... from within. The
last Tsar is growing old and has only one product to sell. If the
world abandons his expensive oil and gas to go green he will have
nothing left to offer, except total anarchy.

Then we will have to cope with China rising.

While we can still manage it we should put a big notice in orbit to
warn incoming.

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here!

Marty wrote:
With all the hype about global unity as
billions watched in July 1969, did it and
the other landings really unify and affect
a "speedy" end to the Vietnam mistake
at the time?

No. The moon landings had little or no effect on the war in Vietnam, or
world peace in general. People everywhere kept right on killing each
other, in wars that made the evening news and many that didn't.
The moon landings were the culmination of a political/technological
competition between two major ideological adversaries. It was a
spectacular achievement though, and it gave some indication of things
that we as a species could accomplish. A thousand years from now, the
only thing most people will know of from our time will be the moon
landings. Hopefully, in time, people will reflect on such things and
learn.
Marty


The moon landing did have an effect. It drained more resources from the
Russian's
than it did the USA. The drain on their resources is what did them in.


Steve

Hopefully America can scrape Bush off
its heel but it will never recover its false
pride again. It is much too late and the
injuries he caused are fatal.

Yeah ~ yeah ~ yeah ~ America is SO EVIL. That probably explains all
the people trying to escape...
Marty
end of this thread for me..

Thanks for the political rant. Now back to Astronomy.




On Sun, 6 Jul 2008 04:39:06 -0700 (PDT), "Chris.B"
wrote:

On 4 Jul., 22:42, (Marty) wrote:

* * *The achievement still stands though, as an example of what
humankind can accomplish. *Maybe someday...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * Marty


Isn't it fascinating how two completely different but opposite
extremes of political ideology still achieved space travel despite
themselves?

Just imagine what the human race could achieve without Russia and
America holding us permanently in the dark ages.

Both equally corrupt. Both capable of great things, but ruled by
rogues who make Mugabe look like he could walk on water and still
provide a fake Rolex for every man women and child in his care.

Hopefully America can scrape Bush off its heel but it will never
recover its false pride again. It is much too late and the injuries he
caused are fatal.

Putin's own limitless greed will be his undoing... from within. The
last Tsar is growing old and has only one product to sell. If the
world abandons his expensive oil and gas to go green he will have
nothing left to offer, except total anarchy.

Then we will have to cope with China rising.

While we can still manage it we should put a big notice in orbit to
warn incoming.

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here!

"It seems to me that only with mixed feelings and considerable misgivings
can the person of moral concern contemplate America's moon shot and man's
first extraplanetary steps. On the one hand, I stand in awe, amazed at this
most dazzling of feats, one which bespeaks man's capacity to hurl himself
hundreds of thousands of miles against the heavens and yet land on his feet.
On the other hand, a sense of irony grips me to the depths of my being when
I view the moon feat as over against the mountainous problems which yet loom
and which seemingly have rendered man and particularly American man,
impotent and whimpering.

How can this nation swell and stagger with technological pride when it has a
spiritual will so cripped, when it is so weak, so wicked, so blinded and
misdirected in its priorities? While we can send men to the moon or deadly
missles to Moscow or toward Mao, we can't get foodstuffs across town to
starving folks in the teeming ghettos. While our astrophysicists can figure
out the formulas that make the amazing trajectories and landings possible,
we cant seem to get nutritionists and physicians to the shanties and shacks
of Appalachia.

Yes, the nation inches along in dealing with the plagues of hunger,
poverty, racism and war. The United States of America staggers and lurches,
a drunken giant sometimes up, most times down in dealing with the diseases
of our time, both physical and sociological.

Even as astronauts stride forth in the headying atmosphere of the moon,
blindfolded America moves toward the whirlwind of another long, fiery summer
and on to more campus rebellions and bloodletting come September. Thus, I
bid us temper our shouts of exultation as man breaks the fetters of gravity
while being unable to forge the links of brotherhood."



Jesse Jackson
Leader of Operation Breadbasket
New York Times (late edition)
July 21, 1969