It was never man-power, it was technology

            An interesting issue resurfaced in the news recently, an issue that has been an on-going problem for many years. The issue of aging satellites. In general, our current satellites, which are monitoring storms such as Hurricane Sandy, and perform practically every other surveillance function we require, from global warming to terrorism, are getting old or already past due.

            And their replacements have been delayed due to disorganization and a lack of government support. From a political stand point this is ironic. The Republican platform wants to strengthen our military and cut back on space exploration and NASA. Unfortunately, cutting back on NASA means letting these satellites die out, satellites that can perform reconnaissance to an extent far beyond any on-ground intelligence force.

            Ever seen a military movie without one of those satellite scenes? Where the solar panels flash across the screen as the satellite bleeps with activity, a wondrous blue Earth directly below it. Cut to – men in a control room pouring over visual data. While all our satellites won’t be out of business, and much of them will only be weather satellites, the issue points to a great matter. Four decades ago we landed people on the moon. Today, we may be borrowing satellites from Canada.

            But let’s not haggle over specifics. The NOAA is working on a project that will help alleviate the strain on our satellite services…eventually. We may just be without weather satellites for a few years, or at least one’s we own. While I’m sure the United States will figure out how to fix the issue, or at least put a bandage on it for the time being, the fact that our emphasis on technology is becoming as discrepant as a developing country is troubling only because technology is the real true, fundamental staple behind power.

            What made humans rulers of the natural world. Tool use. Millions of years later, what made the U.S. so powerful? Tool use. Steamboats to railroads, to the telegram, to space travel. The world may have changed, but the rules haven’t. It wasn’t our manpower that won us the Pacific War; it was the nuke we dropped. In fact, manpower would have likely failed.          

            No one cares much for the next big scientific breakthrough outside of apps and androids. It seems the U.S. has become accustomed to being on top and is taking it for granted. This attitude is clear in Romney’s statement that Russia is still our biggest international competitor. We’re stuck in the 70’s and we’re comfortable. We beat Russia and then dropped out of the game. We’re playing with our second string quarterback while it’s still the first quarter.

            According to the “Art of War” by Sun Tzu, a lack of domestic investment in technology is one of the biggest factors in a nation’s eventual failure. As one comment puts it in the article Dying Satellites,

Romney moaned the loss of ships. How about one or two satellites? The security of our nation depends on more than guns and ships. The relentless and thoughtless attack on "too big government" by the right wing threatens to leave this country less secure, more vulnerable.

Another:

It's worse than this article reports. Not only are we ignoring our weather satellites, but we have abandoned the space shuttle program that would allow us to install, repair, monitor the satellites that we depend on for communication, defense and weather. That we are exceptionally stupid at this national scale is stunning. $2B for campaign ads, but no spending for infrastructure! The republican disdain for the intelligence of the voters seems to be well deserved. Maybe that's why the republicans think they have a chance.

And Another:

But wait! Satellite and all space research and technology are expenses that add to the national debt. Or, are they investments that add to economic growth and security of the general population both domestic and abroad? After all, we don't need microchips, computers, cell phones, computer systems for automobiles and other vehicles; not to mention household appliances, climate control systems, security systems, etc. Who cares if some areas of the world get hit by massive storms without adequate warning? Or, if military activities go undetected until it is to late to prepare. My robotic surgery was a result of this useless space technology. It is a wasteful expense...until you need it.

            The comments actually made me a bit more optimistic about the current state of things, simply because they showed a general sense of intelligence and understanding. Maybe it’s because only people concerned with such matters would even click on the article link, but I cannot help but hope the rest of America is equally knowledgeable.

            The republican platform rides on an idea of “everything will work itself out”, while still emphasizing hard “American” work ethic. Well it seems to me to be rather contradictory, because by laying back, you’re not working. I agree the government shouldn’t meddle in every social issue and economic pitfall, but I do think that the government should take a strong-handed, heavily invested role in technology, science, and the arts. The industrial revolution and the renaissance didn’t just happen without strong government endorsement.

            It will be a sad, sad world when the (supposedly) most powerful nation in the world, can’t track a hurricane with it’s own satellites. That’s like a neurologist who can perform brain surgery, but can’t tie his own shoes. While Bush was criticized (In my opinion, rightly so) for not caring about black people after Katrina, I’d like to be a bit more dramatic than Kanye West and point out how Romney, it seems, doesn’t care about people in general. Maybe an un-monitored flood will wipe out that 47% and solve our problems.