HISTORY

Put your mind in the head of a person in Europe in 1493. Word is getting around that this Italian dude on a Spanish mission had discovered new land across the ocean. Yes, not India but a new land. Some people had written that they thought there was more land over there. It took technology and bravery for someone to make the trip. No one is really sure about a thing like this until it is seen and felt and smelled by a man. If there was land there, was it habitable? Would we be welcome? Was the journey too difficult? Were there riches their? Columbus answered most of these questions.

Now, people all over Europe are starting to think about the new land. Some adventurous people want to go there just for the thrill of it. The entrepreneurial types can picture a way of making money out of the new land. Bigoted and selfish people were probably asking their government to send their poor or criminal element across the sea. Power-driven people see the new land as a base for expanded influence. Civic pride pushes many people to say, "Why aren't we the ones over there grabbing the new land for our country?" I imagine in the next few years all these forces were pushing people toward the New World.

Of course, the English, French and Spanish were the early settlers. They rushed and claimed and fought for this land. Each profited from the experience but each now has limited influence.

Now fast forward to today. The "new frontier" is in outer space. We have brave men and we are making strides in technology.

The Soviet Union and the USA made all the early forays and exploratory missions. Now other countries are getting into the mix. Some are sending their astronauts on U.S. or Russian missions. Others, like India and China, are developing their own technology and programs. Who knows what the future of space exploration will hold? Is Mars the new "new world"? It seems that the moon wasn't. Is there a place out there at all to which nations will rush? Will we profit from the experience, at least for a while? These questions wont be answered in my time. . .but I still wonder. Are we watching history repeat itself?
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