World Issue

The world is a very vast place; it harbors all sorts of ideas, opinions, contradicting modes of thought. Often these come into conflict with each other. Sometimes they merge and become better together, such as with design philosophies, programming paradigms, and work methods in the industrial sector. Other times they react violently, causing a long-lasting human reaction of war, hatred, and distrust that spans generations. Sometimes these differences are grand issues and worthy of a war, such as that of World War II's participants: one side believed in superiority, subjugation, and various forms of socialism and imperialism. The other side, for the most part, believed otherwise, seeking for freedom to do as they wished and defend that which they desired.

Today, there are many issues about, causing splits in societies around the world. Some are old, worn out issues that have already polarized all that can be, like those of abortion, stem cells, nuclear energy, and the like. One that I care about in particular, however, does not take such a prominent spotlight. I speak of Space Exploration. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, father of astronautics, once said "The Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot eternally live in a cradle." He couldn't be more right. The Earth is a great place; it has housed the only form of life we know for billions of years, is a vast and diverse greenhouse, and is one thing nearly every human has in common.

But what happens in 10 years? In 100? 1000? Will we really still be content to stay here, burying our heads in the sand? I was a scifi child, brought up watching Star Wars, Star Trek, Star Gate, Star Anything-that-sounds-scifi-ish. When I read about the history of Space Flight, I felt excited. We had gone from barely being about to launch rockets and satellites to manned landings on the moon in a decade. I read about exotic propulsion systems that would enable Mars landings and remote probing of far off objects. Then came disappointment. In the 40 years since the Space Race, we hadn't returned to the moon; we had abandoned it. When I read that NASA was attempting to return in a span of 15 years, I felt annoyed; how could this be the time frame 40 years later? I soon realized that, through a complex series of convoluted chains of cause and effect, one thing limited exploration of space, the push towards the future:

Conflict.

No, not productive conflict between two competing ideas. Deadly, ridiculous conflict between ideas and peoples that at times are nearly identical and at others completely different. People are all to eager to fight others, attack others, ignore others, hate others for any kind of difference. Individually, it's quite easy to accept others for who they are, regardless of any difference. On a larger scale, however, it seems to become impossible. The ridiculous wars that have been waged throughout history and the modern age dishearten me; sometimes I wish Space Flight had been more fully developed simply so that we could leave it all behind. If only people could stop being selfish and unnaccepting, we might be traveling through the stars, doing something truly amazing instead of getting mud and blood on our hands in lands we hardly care about for ideas we fool ourselves into believing.

Ideas are great, differences bring forth innovation and advancement. But closemindedness counters that advancement. If we could work together and pool our resources, so much could be done. No matter what the issue appears to be, the real problem is that inability to work together. Be more openminded. Try things, accept others. Mature your thoughts. The Earth may be a cradle, but that does not mean we should behave as children.