NASA was in the news last month when NASA administrator Charles Bolden spoke to the news organization Al Jazeera about the direction given to him by President Obama:
“He charged me with three things. One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science…”
The outrageous revelation that Muslim outreach was “perhaps foremost” on his to-do list garnered the most media attention. But the statement as a whole reflects the wrong-headed approach to NASA’s future. NASA is to be used as a diplomatic tool.
Even the least contentious of the president’s directives, “to inspire children,” misses the point. Children learn best when they have purpose. At the inception of our space program, we were an ambitious nation. We wanted to be great, we wanted to build rockets, we wanted to go to the moon. Watch the movie October Sky for just one example of how a country that aspires to be great is a boon to education.
Democrats of today show disdain for all forms of enterprise and it undercuts the motivation for children to learn. How might the current agenda inspire children? Are we asking them to learn math so that they can join a gutted organization and seek help from the international community?
As a representative of District 24, I will make our position clear. NASA’s foremost mission is space exploration. It is a vital national interest and, as a country, we must retain our leadership role. We must make our voice heard, and I will take this message to Washington.
