8 ms·

>It was a time in America when the future seemed endless, anything was possible. Somewhere between "We choose to go to the moon" and "if you see something, say

>It was a time in America when the future seemed endless, anything was possible. Somewhere between "We choose to go to the moon" and "if you see something, say something" we traded all of our hope and optimism for fear and suspicion. I'm just hoping for hope again.

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bpodgursky 10y ago
That's a really simplistic way of thinking about it. The red scare continued through the late 1950s (and the cold war continued for decades -- there was no lack of fear and suspicion). John Glen orbited the earth in 1962, in the middle of all this. The nation doesn't wake up, flip and coin and decide it's either optimistic or fearful one day. You can be scared of some things and optimistic about others. Or both at the same time. Or some people are optimistic, and others have more fears. It's complicated, but pithy quotes ("I'm just hoping for hope again") are stupid.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > John Glen orbited the earth in 1962, in the middle of all this. And almost entirely because of it; the U.S. space program didn't evolve independently of, or in tension with, the fear of Communism.
  - bpodgursky 10y ago
    Yeah. Having a common fear or enemy is often the _cause_ for optimism and rallying around common goals. It's stupid to suggest that fear prevents us from striving for great things.
    - thecrazyone 10y ago
      Chill out man, no need to be so judgemental (in reference to you calling things stupid)
- andars 10y ago
  I appreciate this comment, but I disagree with your statement that "pithy quotes are stupid". Perhaps nothing has changed, but it certainly seems that pessimism, worry, and fear are far more prevalent than optimism now, so I see nothing wrong with a hope for an increase in widespread hope and optimism.
chimeracoder 10y ago
> Somewhere between "We choose to go to the moon" and "if you see something, say something" we traded all of our hope and optimism for fear and suspicion. We chose to go to the moon because we were afraid (afraid of Communism, afraid of the Russians, afraid of the Cold War). That doesn't mean great things can only come about as the result of fear and suspicion, but it's not like the Space Race was a great example of hope and optimism in contrast with fear and suspicion.
ecopoesis 10y ago
In one of his essays, David Brin attempts to define the difference between science fiction and fantasy as one of optimism vs pessimism. In fantasy, the characters reminisce about the good old days, when there was a golden age. In sci-fi, the characters believe that the golden age is in their future-- that things are going to get better. I wish we still lived in a science fiction world.

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bpodgursky 10y ago

That's a really simplistic way of thinking about it. The red scare continued through the late 1950s (and the cold war continued for decades -- there was no lack of fear and suspicion). John Glen orbited the earth in 1962, in the middle of all this. The nation doesn't wake up, flip and coin and decide it's either optimistic or fearful one day. You can be scared of some things and optimistic about others. Or both at the same time. Or some people are optimistic, and others have more fears. It's complicated, but pithy quotes ("I'm just hoping for hope again") are stupid.

dragonwriter 10y ago
> John Glen orbited the earth in 1962, in the middle of all this. And almost entirely because of it; the U.S. space program didn't evolve independently of, or in tension with, the fear of Communism.
- bpodgursky 10y ago
  Yeah. Having a common fear or enemy is often the _cause_ for optimism and rallying around common goals. It's stupid to suggest that fear prevents us from striving for great things.
  - thecrazyone 10y ago
    Chill out man, no need to be so judgemental (in reference to you calling things stupid)
andars 10y ago
I appreciate this comment, but I disagree with your statement that "pithy quotes are stupid". Perhaps nothing has changed, but it certainly seems that pessimism, worry, and fear are far more prevalent than optimism now, so I see nothing wrong with a hope for an increase in widespread hope and optimism.

chimeracoder 10y ago

> Somewhere between "We choose to go to the moon" and "if you see something, say something" we traded all of our hope and optimism for fear and suspicion. We chose to go to the moon because we were afraid (afraid of Communism, afraid of the Russians, afraid of the Cold War). That doesn't mean great things can only come about as the result of fear and suspicion, but it's not like the Space Race was a great example of hope and optimism in contrast with fear and suspicion.

ecopoesis 10y ago

In one of his essays, David Brin attempts to define the difference between science fiction and fantasy as one of optimism vs pessimism. In fantasy, the characters reminisce about the good old days, when there was a golden age. In sci-fi, the characters believe that the golden age is in their future-- that things are going to get better. I wish we still lived in a science fiction world.