Lekshun 2K

by Marshall Presnell

1Up. The USAF

Most rockets launched from Cape Canaveral are devoid of mammals. Yet the precious payloads encased in the capsules atop these rockets have more than our human six senses. (Don’t forget the sense of gravity we all have.) The payloads launched by the USAF since soon after WWII have made US all more well-protected. The people who worked to design, make, process, nurture, serialize and oversee anything lofted off the dirt in our behalf deserve thanks.

Our Air Force really contains members of many different services. Anybody who flies a plane over the skies of the US in peace is part of OUR Air Force. Anybody, since before 1903… even before 1861, who flies through the air or deploys aimed weapons from the air should be considered your Air Force. Additionally: there is an army of smart, dedicated people who have strived to make the center of this blue globe a waypoint for the ships of our defense.

My thanks are to all those called USAF and all others who have made and will make America’s defensive scouting better elevated than topographic advantage.

2Up. NASA

Project Apollo was for Earth. To my mind, the entire human race landed on the moon. China has said that it will land Taichonauts on the moon… before this decade is out. I wish we could all go to the moon temporarily, if only to realize what a sweet little double-wide Earth really is. NASA is, and will always be, an agency dedicated to the peaceful exploration of all altitudes. I trust that China will go to the moon as NASA did: with every human riding their coattails.

Explorations off Earth may one day be more efficiently internationalized. Truly global space missions may one day happen. Until that day, the discoveries of any should be the discoveries of all. There are six plaques on the moon that belong to anybody, anywhere. Thanks, NASA. Good luck China. Welcome back in advance to everybody on Earth.

1Down. War

This shit never has worked. Armed conflict has never lived up to its promise. Has the human race learned nothing from Ghandi? Not much? Will we always have to kill each other?

I understand that there are needs as regards defense, but defense is not always best achieved by force. Can we all learn to share? Will the “Third World” be told to wait in the hall of mirrors? Can’t we all just get along?

2Down. God

This has never worked either. This may be the polar opposite of the genius of humans inventing shoes. This one is as bad an invention as war. Even worse when used as a reason for war. The whole idea is a cop-out: we are not capable of valuing the short time that the spark of life keeps us here, we must have an afterlife. We are insufficient; we must have a boss.

Supreme Being? Sure, why not? Only not if it’s used as a tool to divide, punish and kill. All you who want to “save”, subjugate, ignore, maim, annoy and pity those not sharing your views can take a long walk off a short pier. God is not your coach. Can we get a referee down here? ◼