Column in the New York Times

July 21, 1969

Dr. John (Jack) Marston II, Brandon C. Thomas Professor of History, University of Blackwater

Title: Men on the Moon

Yesterday, I witnessed history.

I understand how cliche that must sound coming from a historian, but I don't know how to explain the astonishment and awe I feel in any other way.

When I was young, I never gave much thought to what the world would be like when I was seventy-four. Heck, there was a period of time where if you told me I would live to be seventy-four I would've laughed.

Yet, here I am...and not only has the world changed, but the United States has left it entirely.

To consider Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldridge, and Michael Collins American heroes would do them a disservice. They are much more than that. They are the pioneers and trailblazers of the modern world, the men who future generations will revere as great explorers and patriots.

What I would give to shake their hands.

My father died in 1911. During one of our final conversations, we discussed the invention of the airplane, news of which had only just made it to the farmland outside Blackwater.

He didn't believe it. I remarked that men could finally be angels.

Now, a mere fifty-eight years later, the United States of America has put three men on the moon. The moon. I never directly asked him, but my father probably would've referred to it as the Great Sky Pancake.

Having grown up among outlaws and desperados, I hated the government and everything it stood for, as is common with a young man's passion and a firm desire for revenge. In my experience, it was only capable of spreading wanton destruction and great suffering upon innocent folk.

If you've read any of my books or articles written before 1925, you've probably seen this for yourself.

Oh, to be young and full of fire once again.

But I am an old man now, and my views have matured considerably. I still have qualms, as any good citizen would, and I do think that the government as a whole does a considerable amount of harm.

But, even with all that in mind, the most fervent libertarian or socialist among us must admit that this level of scientific achievement could only have occurred under the purview of the American government.

Nowhere else in the world does science prosper so freely and with such fervor, and with contributions from so many.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the work of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan, which would have been both ludicrous and legally impossible when I was a boy.

I wonder how the historians of the future will look upon the Moon Landing. Will it be a mere blip of progress in an otherwise bleak and arduous century, or will it mark the beginning of an age of progress and scientific advancement?

Personally, I hope it is the latter.

Regardless, the America of today is not the America I grew up in, and that's a good thing.

The American I grew up in was a devilish place under a devilish regime, one the "modern" youth should consider themselves fortunate in their avoidance thereof.

The America of today is a land of science and opportunity, a march of progress towards utopian ideals of equality and liberty.

We are not perfect. Far from it. And one day, whether it is now or in the future, we Americans will have to confront what our country has unleashed.

But, at least there will be some good to show for it. Good created out of scientific advancement and enormous improvements in quality-of-life — but maybe that was the mere prelude to further greatness.

America is like a flawed father. As a boy, all you can see are his faults and you can't help but hate him for them. As a man, you understand why they're there.

I am seventy-four years old and I saw men land on the moon. Let's use it as a spark for further achievement.