October 4, 2007- Leave It To History

   Today is a momentous day on a couple of fronts, because 50 years ago today was a day that had two momentus events, one far more momentus and lasting than the other, although that  one has had plenty of staying power over this last half century as well. You could  also say that both of these events changed the world, at least one did undisputably, the other, maybe not o much so, but in two very different societies on this day 50 yars ago, two very different events occurred that will be commemorated all day today. Back then, the United States was locked in the Cold War with the USSR/CCCP, what have you,  with the two societies vying to be the most powerful on earth. These two superpowers dominated everything, and the effects of that are felt to this day, in no small part due to what happened over USSR way on that night. One of the main prizes of victory on World War II was the wealth of information, especialy scientific, that Nazi germany had accrued, and the chance to take that and make it your own. It was no secret that Hitler was fascinated with science, and particulary with rocketry and putting man-made objects and even people themselves into outer space. He poured an awful lot of money into that and had many brilliant scientists that wewre devoted to that and were making great headways on it. Both Ameriuca and the USSR knew that at the end of the war, and that was the main reason that the USSR did not bother to wait for America once they had Hitler on the run and were moving in, even though they sustained unbelievable casualties by doing so, they wanted to get to the prizes first and most importantly, by themselves, so they said fuck the casualties and full speed ahead, and they did accomplish what they wanted, they were the only ones  that stormed into Berlin at the end and they had first crack at everything and they took full advantage of it, grabbing everything that they possibly could, even Hitler's brain, which they carved out of his corpse and sliced up into pieces and have kept ever since. The Nazis were notorious thieves, but that scientific knowledge, especially the shit about space, was more valuable than anything they ever looted and was the crown jewel of everything. The fact that these scientists were generally personal friends of Hitler's and were in on everything that the Reich did, they knew exactly what Hitler was up to and how he did it, he used to show and tell them, all of that was ignored by the USSR and USA as they eagerly grabbed the scientists and offered them asylum and new lives and all that shit if they would work for them now. Since the USSR got first dibs, they grabbed the majority of the scientists and knowledge and hardware, giving them a huge advantage over America. The ace in the hole that America had was that they managed to grab the number one scientists of them all, the dude that taught these others what to do, Wehner Von Braun, but he was still just one dude against many, and his advantage was not going to show up until much later not at the beginning. America and the USSR were in a furious race to put shit into space and get busy using it for whatever purposes they could use it for and they had polenty of them in mind, so there was a lot riding on putting something into space first. Not only do you get into the record books, you get a jump on obtaining the knowledge and the uses of space that you know you want and need so very badly. The Nazi scientists were absolved of all blame for anything that they either knew of or participated in, and they went to work for the USSR or USA trying to help them get in space first.

   America was getting there, after all, they had Von Braun working for them, and they were confident that they would be the first to accomplish the feat. They had the satellite made, named and all that shit, and it was just a matter of time before they figured it all out right and got it done. No one thought that the USSR had a chance to beat them because the USSR was considered backwards and inferior by America, no mater how many ex- Nazi scientists they had, and there was no worry about them beating America to this moist important feat.  It was America that made the first atomic bomb and the first hydrogen bomb, the USSR lost there, even though they had scads of  ex-Nazi scientists working on that too, just  like America did. There was no reason to think that the space thing was going to be any different, the thought in America at the time was that the USSR has just stolen the technology for their bombs from America after America did it succesfuly first and that was the only way that they could do it. Then came 50 yars ago today, when all the stuck-up Americans found out that this was not at al lthe case. At 10:28 PM Moscow time that night, there was a rocket launch from the USSR facility inm Kazakhstan I believe, and that was when the USSR pulled ahead in what was to become called the Space Race. They launched a rocket containing this little ball-shaped satellite that has antennae sticking out of it, and once that satellite was deployed into space, the USSR won the first heat of the race. All this little thing did was make a beeping sound but that sound was th esound that humanity and civilization had  changed forever. People in America shit huge bricks when they heard that beeping, for they knew that the gauntlet had been thrown down and that they needed to answer. The Space Race became a metaphor for the Cold War between the USSR and USA, they fought like mad to see who was going to be able to establish themselves in space first and better. Over the years, it was the USSR that won time and time again, virtually every space first was chalked up by them, first living thing is space  (a dog), first man (Yuri Gagarin), first woman, first spacewalk, first object landed on the moon, Venus, and Mars, first space station, pretty much everything. The only real big thing that America won in the Space Race was putting the first men on the moon  back in 1969, and to hear America tell it, that won the entire race. However, that may no teven have been th ebiggest goal in the race, but since it is the only one that America can lay claim to being first at, they make a big as deal out of it. Fifty years ago today, that race that so many said defined the strife between these two societies started, and it is stil going strong today. That event surely is a lot larger than the event that Americans got 50 years ago today, while Sputnik was sending out those first beeps that shocked the world so, Americans were getting a cultural revolution of another kind, as today marke the fiftieth anniversary  of the first time that the TV sitcom "Leave It To Beaver" was aired, on CBS I believe. That was what America got, that is , the Americans that were not connected  enough to be listening to the beeps from outer space. Far from being just another TV show that debuted that night, "Leave It To beaver" became an American classic, an icon, and to this very day, it can be seen every day, usualy numerous times every day, on TV channels throughout America and the world. So on TV today, you'll see two things endlessly, one being old dudes talking about Sputnik, people like Nikita Kruschev's son and such, and people lile Jerry Mathers (Beaver) and the others that were on that stupid fucking TV show and are still alive enough to talk about it.

   Now, if you watch some of these shows today, they'll make it seem like these two events are equal in importance. There will be these pompous blowhards that will go on endlessly about "Leave It To Beaver" and say how it is a much maligned show, that it is not some kind of sanitized version of life in the Eisenhower era, that they shows have meaning and mesages, they'll point to the fact that it was the first show in America to ever show a toilet on it and so forth. they will say that this is a mere part of the show's lasting appeal, and point to the fact that it is going to be on TV probably like 100 times today alone and that alone signals that it is a classic. there wil be all sorts of people like larry King that will give these fuckers all sorts of TV time today to promote the inane fact that this TV show is still around 50 years later and how "relevant" it is to today's world. They'll talk about the misadventures of Beaver's brother Wally's friend Eddie Haskell and how that relates to today's kids, and go on forever like this shit actually means something, because to them, it does. However, only Jerry Mathers would be able to say that what happenedd in America 50 years ago today was anywhere near as important as what happened in Kazakhstan because he has made a very good  living off of it all that time, and would be nowhere without it, but in the real world, the Sputnik was far more important and changed life more than Beaver and the Cleavers did. Putting a fucking toilet on TV was not shit, that changed nothing, the toilets on TV shows are empty things like the ones in hardware store windows and are non functional anyway, so what they showed on Beaver was nothing more than a prop. The Sputnik changed our lives in ways that Beaver and Wally  could not even imagine, and Eddie Haskell would be of no help to them here either.  To begin with, computers would not exist like they do now if it was not for the Space Race, the way that everything from Sputnik to what they put up today gets there is through computer technlogy first and foremost. Communications are now instantaneous because of space technology and satelites, the TV station that you will see Beaver on today is broadcast on something that is the direct descendant of Sputnik. There have been advances in the words of science and medicine through space, and even agriculture is getting in on the act. Life as we know it today is very tied into space  technology, without it, the world would not be such a different place than the one that Beaver lived in on TV. Outer Space is the next fronmtier for mankind to conquer, and he has been hard at work at it these last 50 years. While Eddie Haskell left show business and became a Pig, and  Jerry Mathers made a living out of being Beaver, space technology was changing not only their lives, but the lives of everyone. Beaver can be seen everywhere now thanks to it, and that is the least of the benefits that Sputnik brought us. Those beeps have matured and transformed into virtually everything that mankind does, something that no one on either the USSR  or USA side thought was possible 50 years ago. They knew that they had a big deal on their hands, but no one could envision exactly how big a deal it was and how it would impact everyone on the planet. Beaver may be an  American cultural touchstone and icon, but he pales in comparison to Sputnik in terms of what he did for society, even though he can be seen in the former USSR nowadays.

   As far as the Space Race today gos, it is still on, although it is not just a two horse race anymore. China has entered the fray and looks like they are a serious contender. Russia has also broken many ties with the USA space program now, meaning that America is now  on its own once again, this time against numerous powers, not just one.  However, this time, the race is not being viewed as some kind of triumph of America against the others, it is not that big a deal anymore and no longer defines the society like it did back when. If America thought they got heir asses beat by the USSR back then, and they did in the end, they are goinmg to have serious problems weith five ot more entries into the race. They are no longer looked at as any kind of leaders  in space, and that is why no one wants to do business with them anymore. All the ex-Nazi scientists have died or are way too fucking old to be any good now, and America's space program has stayed stuck because of it. They are seen as old fashioned, and the other countries like China and India who are getting into the race now are seen as blowing away America in short order. The race now is not so much to see who can be first at much, because virtually everything that can be done has been now, but to gain those advantages for your society that you were after to begin  with. America is losing at that game right here on earth, and why things would be different in outer space are not clear at all. America has a nice history and pedigree in space, but they are falling farther and farther behind everyone else with each passing day it seems. The American space program is looked on as somje sore of "Leave It To Beaver" an old tired show that is re-run in eternity. Like Beavwer, America has tried to make a living out of fifty years ago and such, but that always runs its course, and they are now being shunted aside, much as Beaver has been for today's sitcom kids.  However, the stakes in the Space Race were always much higher than the ones CBS had for Beaver and they stil are today, even more so. NASA has been saying that 50 years from today, they want to be celebrating the space program's centennial with men on Mars and shit like that, but to do that, they have to get cracking now and get caught-up to the others so they don't risk becoming like Tony Dow, (Wally on Leave It To Beaver), who had serious problems in his life after that show was done with and has had a very long road trying to get his life back together, he still tries today, and America cannot afford to be like that in space, they have to catch up and maintain the benefits that they have gotten from this last half century. To lose in space in the 21st century means to lose on earth and America does not want that. Ther eis no room fo ranyone to become a beloved icon out of this like Jerry Mathers has, this is cold-blooded business that makes the TV business look like kindergarten and the stakes are just too high to fail here. leave it to history to show that the ones that makes thje best decisions in space is the one that makes the most out of it, not necessarily the one that is first, and America needs to stop looking at this as a race and look at it for what it is a business venture and it needs to be run like one. The other countries involved today so it that way and that is why they are all passing America up. A race was fine for Cold War days, but those  days are long gone and a new reality prevails, and America needs to grasp that reality and go with it and duplicate the successes they have had in space these last 50 years in the new century anfd then they'll be fine.

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