Dream

In class we discussed about science and how one's hunger or even just desire for science can go wrong and be dangerous. We, humans are fragile like "moths" and can easily come and go. What makes us unique is our quest to find and discover more through science and not allowing failure to hinder us. Looking back at our many scientific achievements through history, many people made a lot of sacrifice or even gave up their lives to make, what were once dreams, into a reality. An example is the space race, a "civilian" venture which saw the U.S to be the first and only nation to land a man on the moon. Apollo 11 was the moon landing mission, but there were 5 Apollo missions before that and some were not so good. Apollo 1 killed 3 astronauts: Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger B Chaffee. President Kennedy's dream was to see the American flag on the moon and NASA had to make it a reality. They started with something simple such as spacecraft docking with the Gemini mission. That had some failures but NASA pushed on and with a lot of effort and money later invested into the Apollo Program America was able to achieve the dream. Just like the radium that glows, the things in the night sky have always fascinated us. The danger of something is seen as a mere challenge and one should make calculated decisions. Chet Raymo is right that one must exercise a level of restraint, because thats how one stays safe, but that should not prevent one from reaching their destination. So now the question is: are we to continue to pursue the unlimited advancement opportunities of science despite the danger and the risk involved, with lives lost and billions of dollars that went along with it? Is it justified to say "we owe our nation and our future generation to further the modern scientific technology "?