In those days, we didn’t get the talking points of a president’s speech before it was given, so on the morning of September 12, 1962, no one knew that John F. Kennedy was about to change the course of human history.  A young, idealist president, JFK could also be considered a pragmatist.  He championed small government and campaigned tirelessly for lower taxes, all the while bearing in mind the greatness of which his country was capable, the importance of achieving it, and the need to do it ahead of others with the same goals.  “We choose to go to the moon,” he said.  It was a simple sentence that ignited a political firestorm and sent mankind on its greatest adventure.

Most of his own party were against it.  Walter Mondale tried repeatedly to scrap the program, claiming it was far too expensive.  The scientific community, while supportive, quietly wondered if it was even possible given the technology of the day.  Kennedy was not dissuaded.

The endeavor absorbed the resources of thousands of men, costing millions of dollars, many marriages, and several lives.  Time and time again, there were calls to cancel the mission.  When Kennedy was killed, the naysayers grew louder.  In his place, Johnson perservered.

40 years ago this weekend, 6 years after an assassin took Kennedy’s life, his dream became a reality.

It was mankind’s greatest voyage and America’s crowning moment -  the awesome potential of The United States on display for all the world to see. 

Now, there are those who decry it as a wasteful exercise in consumption.  They dismiss it as simply the insolent act of a fledgling nation desperate to improve it’s global standing.  Worse, there are those pathetic, deluded souls who believe it never happened, that it was nothing more than a sham perpetrated upon the planet by a failing government that was incapable of achieving its goals, so it resorted to chicanery.

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of this event, we take a moment to remember the thousands of people who made the voyage a reality, turn our backs on those who would seek to rob us of our heritage by preaching the ridiculous conspiracy mantra, and look forward to the day when we make the trip again.

Remember, one man with a dream can change the world…..

                           ….and, like Kennedy, he can probably lower taxes while doing it.

-Robert Laurie