The article, What is Our Sputnik? did not turn out to
be what I expected and I am not sure how to respond. I am not sure how the
author justifies the correlation between the changes in science and education
brought about by the release of the Russian satellite Sputnik and today’s emphasis
on foreign policy and fighting terrorism.
I think the
author fails to take into account the sociological differences between the
American of today and the America of the late 50’s. The adults of the late 1950’s
were products of WWI and WWII. They had seen Russia as an enemy. The thought of
the Soviet super power having an upper hand on us was unacceptable and
unleashed a need to surpass the Russians. Society of the 1950’s was living in prosperous
postwar economic times. They were hard workers raised by parents who survived the
Great Depression and understood what hard work and pride meant. They remembered
the victories of the United States and took pride in the nation.
Today’s society
is one with a sense of entitlement and very little pride in our nation. As a
whole, much of society is lazy, not willing to be hard workers. The majority of
people know little of the oil dependency crisis. Very few care one way or the
other about what is happening in the Middle East. I fear the only reason politicians
care is for political gain. Our service men are valiantly fighting a war about
which,most of us know nothing. People on the home front are more concerned
about the economy as to how it affects them. They (whether democrat or
republican) voted for the candidate who could do the most for them. Of course,
we are going to vote for who can do the most for us, but with a nation of self-entitled
people, our vision is limited. We have become a narcissistic nation of whiners who
do not take responsibility for our own actions; we choose to blame others or
take the mindset that we are owed something.
What would it
take in today’s world to light a fire under us the way Sputnik did? It will
take an event that affects us personally, not us as a nation. We think we have
it going on because we have all the cool gadgets and toys…. IPads, IPhones, IPods,
etc. Our youth today lack the foresight to want to pursue careers associated
with changing the world. It is simply too much work.
