Sunday, August 26, 2012

Whither Our Heroes?

We lost a hero yesterday, a giant of a man whose small step brought the Moon (and beyond) closer to us all.
Image courtesy of NASA

My circle of true heroes is vanishing; I watch as the legacies of wondrous deeds and heroic accomplishments fade into distant memory, replaced by vacuous rhetoric, empty promises, and dishonorable lies. I wonder and despair: Why has the wisdom, experience, and pursuit of science been relegated to pariah status, dismissed as an afterthought?

Whither our heroes?

Where are the visionaries, the women and men who still dare to boldly go? Our species squanders its hyperconnectivity—blindly rallying itself behind ideology, zealotry, denialism, hypocrisy, misogyny, hate, discrimination... and chicken sandwiches—while our air, soil, and water fill with toxins; our eyes, ears, and brains fill with pablum; and our Earth system teeters on catastrophe.

Our Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity are not enough to save us from our own greed, selfishness, and ignorance. We need Passion, and Clarity, and Courage, and Audacity!

Who are our children's Neil Armstrongs, Sally Rides, and Carl Sagans?

Who will speak for Earth… and when will we listen?

Whither our heroes?

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