What's the Point?

The CNN debates are over for now, and despite fantastic effort by thousands of people across the country, the moderators of the debate have neglected to bring up the important issue of space exploration in our country.

What happens now with all of the energy that we have built up? Have we failed? Have we proven to ourselves and everybody else that space exploration really is destined for the history books, and not for the near term national agenda?

Of course not. In the words on one Clinton staffer, “I’m impressed with the grassroots effort. . . They’ve done more than all the sophisticated lobbyists.” You can bet that Hillary has had discussions and planning sessions behind closed doors about what her space policy is and how she would have responded if a related question had been asked at the debate.

An Obama staffer said “It’s a small but vocal group, and they’ve reached out from the beginning.” He doesn't know how large we are yet.

Whether or not any of the candidates come into the White House with a desire to foster space exploration, whether of not any of the bills listed on the right of the page are ever signed into law, the simple exercise of people getting active in the political process about space exploration in this nation will have a profound effect on the future of the industry. For each person who had the faith to write a letter, to make a phone call, to approach a legislator or candidate in person; the effort to engage will mold them into more potent and willing tools to chip away at the societal walls that keep us from exploring space. The wall is large, and while participants in our effort have different places that they would like to chip, these past two weeks there have been more people chipping than ever.

If the email boxes are full, the fax machines print straight into the trash, the voice mails are deleted without being heard, and the Politico moderators ignore the overwhelming votes for space related questions; the people who sent those messages and votes still have learned that they can, of themselves, take a concrete step in promoting space exploration, and in so doing affirm to themselves that they are not passive observers of this movement, but active players in pushing humanity's knowledge and grasp outward into space.

I started this website because I wanted to go to a website that had the resources that actionforspace.com has. I didn't find it exactly, although I found cues at spacepolitics, nasawatch, the Mars Society, and other sites. I knew that because I wanted a website like actionforspace.com, there must be others who wanted a website like that as well. This has been confirmed by the massive number of new and repeat visitors to actionforspace.com.

We have had an impact. That's what happens when a group of people with a common inclination all point their energy in a specific direction. Reading the varied space related questions on politico.com, it's obvious that we aren't all marching to the same drum, but it is undeniable that a whole lot of people are marching, and the sound of that march is being heard in campaign offices and throughout Washington.

I'm proud of what has happened, and I feel encouraged that sustaining our efforts throughout this election and beyond will bear greater fruits. I pledge to you all that I will continue my efforts running actionforspace.com to make it easier for you to have an impact on the future of the space exploration. I look forward to the continued help and participation with you all. Thanks for your incredible response to the debates in Los Angeles.