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The 45th anniversary of mankind's first step on the moon passed rather quietly on Sunday.
The wonder of the moment faded long ago. Astronaut Neil Armstrong died in 2012, and no one has made that trip again since 1972.
Perhaps it's because 45 isn't a nice round number and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary will be much different.
Or perhaps we've forgotten the excitement of that day in 1969 and the pride we all took in the accomplishment.
In a world that seems to be coming apart at the seams, the moon landing may not have much relevance today.
On the other hand, at a time when men are demonstrating the worst they are capable of, what better antidote could there be than to remember the best that men and women are capable of?
The landing of Apollo 11 on the moon on July 20, 1969, was the result of the embarrassment Americans felt at the success of Russia in space. The Soviet Union consistently beat us to the landmarks in the race to the moon - the first unmanned spaced flight, the first manned space flight and the first unmanned landing on the moon (on Sept. 13, 1959).
And, so, politics was the other driver of the United States space program. In a speech to Congress in 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced an ambitious goal: "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth." It became crucial to the American psyche that we regain the scientific upper hand and beat Russia to the moon.
The promise captured the nation's imagination. Much of the country came to a halt as the newly created NASA attempted each "small step" along the path that we all hoped would eventually take men to the moon - from Alan Shepard's solo flight, to John Glenn's orbit of the Earth, to the first flights to pass by the moon and return without stopping.
On July 21, 1969, six hours after their Lunar Module settled into the dust of the moon, we saw Armstrong descend the ladder and step onto the moon. He was soon joined by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. All the while, Michael Collins continued to pilot Apollo 11 Command Module around the moon, confident that he would meet up with the others soon and they would return to Earth safely. They did, and the nation rejoiced.
Perhaps it was all bread and circuses with little relevance to the lives of most Americans. After all, we were, at the same time, mired in an unwinnable war in the jungles of far-off Vietnam.
Or, perhaps, it was just what a troubled nation needed - a common goal that required imagination and technological prowess, and was seen through to a successful conclusion.
Maybe it's just what we need today.
- Reno Gazette-Journal