During Spring Break, I took an opportunity to visit our nation’s capital to take in all the history and stories it had to offer. From seeing all the monuments that pay great homage to past presidents, taking tours of buildings like the Capitol and the White House that hold such political significance and facing the blast of snow that caused the federal government to shut down, it was a trip I’ll never forget. I’ll also never forget some of the thoughts that crossed my mind as I explored what could be called a political science major’s playground.
One of the very first things I did was go the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which houses a grand collection of aeronautical pieces that span hundreds of years, including the actual plane the Wright Brothers made for their first flight. It also holds authentic World War II planes and genuine tools used by various astronauts to explore our solar system.
At the same time I was seeing all of this, I was thinking about how we as a country no longer have a passion for exploring our curiosities and scratching the surface of the unknown. All the artifacts I was viewing took me back to a time when we were the first to take on the most daring challenges, the most notable being the first to send people to walk on the moon. I feel as if over the past decade we have not aimed to reach our full potential, and we could be doing more, especially with the space program. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, feels the same way.
Last month, Aldrin testified at a special Senate subcommittee hearing about sending people to Mars and establishing a martian base. Aldrin also asserted that since the Apollo moon landings, America has failed to demonstrate its leadership in space exploration. He said, “Over the next few years, we must choose whether we are to go forward as a nation and lead the extension of global civilization to a permanent presence beyond Low Earth Orbit, or to allow American leadership in space to erode over the next decades.”
I have to agree with Aldrin. We could be doing more in space exploration, especially considering that we have two subsequent administrations that have not been very supportive of NASA. President George W. Bush started a trend of budget cuts to NASA, and the current Obama administration continued this pattern.
I believe almost everyone agrees, regardless of ideology, that NASA is important for research and development and leading the world in exploration. John F. Kennedy got it right when he said we move forward with these things, “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Another thought raced across my mind when I saw the actual flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 — the one that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem. To view the actual flag behind our anthem was awe-inspiring and reminded me how proud I am to be an American, a sentiment that a majority of millennials do not share.
According to a Pew Research Center poll in 2013, only 32 percent of millennials agree the U.S. is the greatest country in the world, compared to the Silent generation’s 64 percent. The world today is much more globalized and accessible than it was back in the early 20th century, so I sort of understand why that number is so much lower than with older generations. However, when asked if they agreed with the statement, “I am very patriotic,” only 70 percent of millennials agreed, while these numbers were much higher among Gen Xers (86 percent), baby boomers (91 percent) and Silents (90 percent).
It’s pretty disappointing when my generation feels this way, even though the U.S. fosters levels of diversity, liberties and opportunities that are unknown to any other nation.
We still, and always will, have work to do to continue to advance these principles, but my generation’s lack of enthusiasm for a place that is so free is unsettling. My plea is for my generation to grasp their sense of patriotism and use it as a source of inspiration to continue to improve our country and make it better for future generations.
Nick Eagle is a UF economics and political science senior. His column appears on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 3/17/2015 under the headline “Let’s not lose our curiosity and patriotism”]
