Although my blog mainly centers around family communication, one of the things you will often see are discussions of inspirational, iconic or transformative moments and the leaps of faith that sometimes accompany them. I came across one such moment when I watched a video of a speech given by Dr. Bill Stone at a TED conference. I came away from watching this with the following thoughts…

• Dr. Stone is either a kook, or a tremendously inspirational adventurer and leader of whom I am envious, and would support wholeheartedly.

• There are still people of courage in the world who are interested in advancing our understanding of the universe at no small risk to themselves.

• Inspiration comes from when we think outside of ourselves, whether from a work of art, or a scientific endeavor

• And that the world could use a bit more inspiration these days

My three kids never experienced the magic of Mercury, Gemini or waking in the middle of the night to watch Apollo's Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the moon a mere 8-1/2 years after John F. Kennedy challenged a nation to do so. They never marveled at Skylab, Hubble, the early Shuttle missions or experienced the horror of when the Challenger seven slipped the surly bonds of earth and touched the face of God. They grew up in a world where having a permanently orbiting space station crewed by Americans, Russians and others was the norm of the day and the grounding of the Shuttle fleet with no replacement on the horizon is nothing of which to be particularly aware.

So what's next? How does a near-bankrupt nation make the impossible decision to fund missions to the moon or Mars while one out of every ten of its citizens are unemployed. And as 7,000 Americans will turn 65 years old every day in 2011, how will we dig out of the economic hole we have dug for ourselves while caring for an ever-aging nation? Why focus on off-world endeavors instead of tending to problems right here at home?

The real question is, “Can we afford not to?” While America lost its prominence as a nation of manufacturers, it handily became the world leader in information technology. But where did the technology come from that spawned the microprocessor, digital storage, flash memory, advanced programming languages, electronic miniaturization, nanotechnology, composite materials, and the Internet? From America's space and defense programs, that's where.

Should we ask ourselves whether an aspirational challenge such as JFK's in 1961 is what will fuel the next advancement of society for the U.S. and the world. I don't pretend to know how we can possibly afford this. But I do believe that a lack of vision will only lead to decline, not advancement. In 2008, America voted for "Hope." In 2012, I'm looking for whomever has "Vision." They will get my vote.

But for now, it makes me smile to hear life imitate art as Captain James T. Kirk wakes the Discovery astronauts with his enduring prose…"Space, the final frontier. These have been the voyages of the Space Shuttle Discovery…"

That's my humble opinion. What do you think? Should we increase our off-worldly ambitions as Dr. Bill Stone or Nasa would have us do? Or should we focus inward upon ourselves to take care of problems at home? Please comment below.

Sincerely,
Peter Radsliff
CEO, Presto Services Inc.