Going To The Moon with JFK
PermalinkNo man can fully grasp how
far and how fast we have come,
but condense, if you will,
the 50 thousand years of
man's recorded history in
a time span of but
a half-century.
Stated in these terms,
we know very little
about the first 40 years,
except
at the end of them
advanced man had learned
to use the skins of animals
to cover them.
Then about 10 years ago,
under this standard,
man emerged from his caves
to construct other kinds
of shelter.
Only five years ago man
learned to write
and use a cart
with wheels.
Christianity began
less than two years ago.
The printing press came this year,
and then
less than two months ago,
during this whole 50-year span
of human history,
the steam engine provided
a new source of power.
Newton explored
the meaning of gravity.
Last month
electric lights
and telephones
and automobiles
and airplanes
became available
Only last week did we develop
penicillin and television
and nuclear power,
and now if
America's new spacecraft succeeds
in reaching Venus,
we will have literally reached
the stars before midnight tonight.
Address at Rice University
on the Nation's Space Effort
(1962) by John F. Kennedy
(We choose to go to the moon)