For me, Armstrong’s death is the end of an era. I wasn’t even a twinkle in my father’s eye when Armstrong walked on the moon, but Armstrong is the icon of an era that transformed my life.
NASA’s space program was so successful that it made vogue and successful a genre of space-inspired media. CS Lewis had already written an unsuccessful science fiction series, as had Isaac Asimov, and then of course there were all those campy black and white movies and television programs that made us afraid of the unknown. When Armstrong stepped on the moon, much of that fear left us. Sure, the Apollo 11 chapter would make us take a step back, but we had taken many steps forward because of Armstrong’s first step.
Armstrong precipitated things that transformed my generation. From Star Trek to Battlestar Galactica to Dune to Stargate to Star Wars, all of those things are perfectly normal for Generation X. With Armstrong dead, what will be the link for the rising generation? I have cousins whose children know nothing of Han Solo, and most of my students think I, at 33, am backwards and a loser for liking Kirk and Spock. My ancestors settled the American west in the 1840s. This gave them a new frontier, and it inspired my father to fly.
What dreams will persist to the new generation? I have seen posts since the news broke where people mix up Neil Armstrong (NASA engineer) with Lance Armstrong (Tour de France champion). What do they know, and will they appreciate it? Some day, they may really say when we reminisce about how “we walked on the moon once”, “so? What good is that now”? There are stories out there that Obama might make this the era during which we walk on Mars. How, with him cutting NASA’s exploration programs (he already scrapped the shuttles)? Why does this always have to be about Obama?
The great and classy thing about Neil Armstrong is that he wasn’t into fame. I wonder sometimes if Kirk was modeled after Armstrong- Kirk who climbed mountains “because they were there” and who took a demotion to command a starship again. John Glenn became a senator. Others became legends. Armstrong became an icon, but he didn’t care, and he didn’t capitalize on it, which is why it’s so rassafrassin tacky that Obama made this all about Obama.
The world lost a gentleman this weekend. It is truly our loss. One small loss for this man; one giant loss for all of mankind. Boldly go, Mr. Armstrong. Tread well.
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