Neil deGrasse Tyson Rant about when we stopped Dreaming about the Future

[ejpoeta]

Run time: 02:38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_F3pw5F_Pc   Posted on YouTube: August 07, 2011 By YouTube Member: lhite Views on YouTube: 25135   Posted on DU: August 10, 2011 By DU Member: ejpoeta Views on DU: 1182

 
This is the most passionate plea for the space program that I have heard. But it wasn't just about the space program... it was about our future in general. deGrasse talks about when we stopped going to the moon and stopped talking about the future and how now it's all about the next quarter and the next election and no one thinks about the future. I looked for it to post in a reply and thought I would post it on it's own. I think he had a good point.

[catbyte]

1. I was impressed when I saw him on Bill Maher.

[izquierdista]

2. I remember those days

And yes, you couldn't go a week without another article in the popular press describing how neat and cool the future would be. If you really wanted to fantasize about the future, you could turn on 'Star Trek' and see Capt. Kirk talking on his cell phone communicator.

[Ineeda]

3. He made excellent points.

We don't think of the future in this country anymore. In addition to under-emphasizing the joy and challenge of adventure and the search for knowledge, we have become a reaction-based society rather than a proactive one. Even to the most banal things, like bridges, roads, levees, and rail transportation. If a bridge collapses, we find the huge dollars to fix it and make it much better than before, sure, but how much less would it cost to maintain and upgrade? (And how many lives would be saved?) Not to get into a whole 9/11 rant, but how much did the damage cost, and continues to cost, over the price of paying attention. (And I'm just talking about the infrastructure and immediate damage to our economy that resulted, not the loss of life and loss of freedom. Those are immeasurable.) The same thing can be said about Katrina. The same thing can be said about the BP oil spill in the Gulf. There are so many examples of the exorbitant cost of reaction, compared to the much less expensive pro-action, that it's frightening and extremely demoralizing. We are certainly on the road to becoming a second-class country, if we're not already there.

[ejpoeta]

4. I completely agree. Instead of taking care of things when they are manageable

we wait until they are so broken they need to be completely redone. It's insane. It's like saving money on oil changes and tune ups on your car and then ending up having your engine blow up and having to get it replaced or rebuilt. Something that could have been prevented by simple maintenance.

[deutsey]

5. Kick to listen to later

[deutsey]

10. This was worth the wait. Thanks for posting!

[bananas]

6. "The bank bailout was more than NASA's entire 50-year budget"

[Fantastic Anarchist]

8. Yeah, that astonished me as well when I watch the original episode. n/t

[Fantastic Anarchist]

7. I love that guy ...

He's going to be doing Sagan's Cosmos series (I think it's going to be produced by Seth McFarlane).

[ArtiChoke]

9. Cosmos

Ok, I wasn't thrilled when I heard Tyson was going to host the new Cosmos series but maybe if he was more unscripted it could be great! He'd need a good editor is all.

[elana i am]

11. i *heart* neil degrasse tyson

[BackToThe60s]

12. Tyson ROCKS, Baby!

And, in this vid and two that I've posted, he owned that fucking panel!