60's Redux

Feels like my childhood all over again. Once again we have protests in the streets and a successful launch and landing of a new spacecraft designed for human flight. The positive and negative of our society once again glaring for the world to see.

The effects of institutionalized slavery and our formation from a polyglot of other nations continues to haunt us in Ferguson and New York City and across the nation. The petty tension from misdemeanors has at least twice escalated into deadly confrontation. Smoking kills from more than just lung cancer. Why do our police feel threatened by large black men? Are they not trained to deal with these sorts of confrontations? Why do large black men feel threatened by police over petty theft? Can they not expect to plead out, pay a fine and learn their lesson?

The 'Why' questions point to deeper issues that each generation must solve for themselves. Parents and family can detoxify the atmosphere to some degree, yet the basic issue remains. That issue is "How will I react to someone who looks different from me and acts different from me?" Deeper yet, "Can I trust someone significantly different from me?" Police are in situations where trust has to be earned. Black neighborhoods are also places where trust has to be earned as well. Stealing, bullying, shooting and choking all erode trust.

How about the social responsibility of our news sources? Where are the pictures, vines and videos of different folks working together? Where are the live streams of police diffusing situations and perpetrators walking away safely in handcuffs? Where are the cell phone videos of communities improving the lives of others? Not news, you say. The way things are going, they may become news.

Image: NASA

The 60 other flashback splashed down in the Pacific Ocean today, as the first new spacecraft since the Shuttle took flight this morning. Orion lifted off flawlessly, orbited to a height of 3600 miles and returned to earthly over a roughly 4 hour period. Neat and smiling men and women told us of the various parts of the system, while live telemetry and video revealed each stage of the mission. Cronkite and his toy rockets were not needed this time.

Once again our thoughts are turned to the pristine blackness of space. Once again we see the world as a blue, white and brown ball on which we all live. Once again we are confronted with the fact that we all live in the same confine of the earth. We carry a drive to rise higher and go farther, to learn and create. This is the image of God in us as humanity, so stunningly carried out in space.

In fact our country, like many on the earth I'm sure, illustrates the evil of fallen man in our cruelty and fear, as well as the image of our Creator in our goals and achievements. So, I cheer on space exploration in hope that as we see more images of God's creation from on High, we will be more likely to open ourselves to God's love, which drives out fear.