Moonwalk During Apollo Missions
I have been tied up traveling for a new job the last week so wanted to check in and put some words on my keyboard.
Today, we woke up to the news that John Young has passed away at the age of 87 and he was an accomplished astronaut and an American hero.
I am a child of the 60s and 70s, so I have many memories lodged in the grey matter surrounding the space program and cold war competition that involved space.
John Young participated in the Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle programs and traveled to space while attached to each.
- As one of few individuals who walked on the moon, John was also one of the few squeaky wheels when it came to space program safety.
- Most astronauts drifted off into the sunset and took advantage of fame in the civilian sector, but John Young as part of the NASA until 2004 when he officially retired in his 70s.
- John Young impacted the world in many ways, and he lived his life based on his quote “You Don’t Want To Be Politically Correct, You Want To Be Right.”
Who can argue with a point like that?
Well, today it seems like we have become politically correct to a fault and if we do not wake up soon, progress will be impossible because of PC.
- The politically correct (PC) world that has evolved over the last fifty (50) years is destroying society and stifling the benefits of diversity.
Don’t Let Others Talk Over You!!
This week, I started my new career at a large, diverse corporation that is 100 plus years old and has a cosmic footprint.
- The primary goal of the orientation class appeared oriented at getting a diverse group of people to network and communicate. These are all great things.
- Our orientation class had US citizens, foreign citizens, foreign nationals, numerous races, and undoubtedly many more HR classifications of people.
- We were broken up into different teams through much of the day so you had the chance to work with everyone in orientation at least once and it was a successful day I believe.
After orientation class, a few of us were not flying out until the next day, so we walked the drizzly downtown streets until we found a small pub with food and drink.
- We had a couple of drinks, and some great local fare food and after started discussing challenges encountered in today’s world.
- It should not be a surprise that we have people at different ends of the political spectrum at the table, so a lively conversation occurred for probably sixty (60) minutes.
- Being of the same generational age, we had much in common, but our life experiences were significantly different resulting in what our expectations of government intervention should be.
- We ended the conversation civilly, and although neither of us swayed, we both made some thought-provoking points and learned that although different, we were closer than thought.
Diversity And Dialogue Is Great!!!
This line of thinking brings me back to what PC is doing to our world. A short list of why PC is negative includes.
- Reduces Dialogue – People Do Not Want To Talk.
- Offenders Run Over others – Shout Louder And Longer.
- Makes Society Dumber – Close Your Eyes And Ears.
- Increased Stubbornness And Ignorance – Hunker Down.
- Freedom Of Speech Is Compromised – You Cannot Say That.
- This Short List Just Scratches The Surface!!
Welcome to the 21st Century where it is becoming more like 1984 where Political Correctness is reducing diversity while acting as a champion for diversity and we are scratching our heads trying to learn what the new rules of the game are.
- With that, I will say I would rather “Be Right, Not Politically Correct.” I also must thank John Young and other heroes like him that were willing to not cave in for PC.
Please share your thoughts surrounding this subject.
- What Are Your Thoughts On Our PC World?
- Who Are Your Non-PC Heroes?
I wish you health, safety, and success in 2018. It sure is great being fifty plus going on fifteen.
Jay Patterson