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July 22, 2009
The Provenance of Power on Earth is Often Considered to be the Sky
So much hoopla about the fortieth anniversary of the first Moon landing! How remarkable it is that governments, such as those of the United States and Soviet Union, undertook an expensive and dangerous “space race.” Parades are a far cheaper way to show off military hardware.
Yet historically, it all makes perfect sense. For longer than humans can remember, power derived from the sky, or the demonstrated power to predict the behavior of the sky, has legitimized political power on Earth. This can be extrapolated to include venturing into the sky. A government that has mastered the sky has the “right” to govern on Earth.
And so it continues. Throngs of people in India and China live in desperate poverty. The leaders of these countries are not stupid; they know this. Still, they are tempted to divert resources toward sending Indians and Chinese to the Moon. Why?
The tomb of Qin, the emperor who united China two thousand years ago, is purported to include a large, detailed model of Qin’s palace. This might be expected. However, hanging above this re-creation is said to be a remarkable map of the heavens. Whether they have fully thought it out or not, the oligarchs of today’s People’s Republic of China are trying to fulfill Qin’s destiny.
Posted by hockey at July 22, 2009 9:52 AM