Below is a NY Times summary of the landing of the Mars rover, “Curiosity.” It is a remarkable accomplishment and there is much to celebrate today. But when the President spoke afterward, and did the obligatory national chest beating, I wondered how those words would feel to someone from another country? Everyone knows that we are the only nation who could have done this, so why did we need to say it? I wondered what would happen if we saw our best accomplishments within the context of our species and not just more proof of our own national glory? What if instead of planting our own flag on every moon and planet we land upon, we left, instead, a symbol of planet earth? What if the President saw our remarkable accomplishments as a sign of what our world could do if we worked together and not against one another? People would still know we did it, but what if we invited them to share in the celebration, and to join us in doing even greater things? When Neil Armstrong stepped out on the moon he recognized the lunar landing as an accomplishment for our entire species. But, then, we planted our own flag. I wonder what it would feel like if, for once, we left our national flag back on earth?
http://science.time.com/2012/08/06/mars-rover-curiosity-lands-safely-on-the-red-planet/