Obama assassination attempt: one giant leap from space age to stone age

 Obama assassination attempt: one giant leap from space age to stone age

News that the ATF has broken up a white supremacist skinhead plot to assassinate Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama while murdering dozens of black Americans  reminds us that the star path to the future is not built with hate.
There are many spin-off benefits from America's space program, but chief among them is NASA's role in serving as a role model for inclusiveness and diversity. In that, NASA follows one of the most popular space fictional series of all times, Star Trek.
When Star Trek began, its multi-racial command team, which also included an alien Vulcan, shocked many people. But the "wagon train to the stars," as it was often dubbed, turned out to be a guide to the developing U.S. space program.
A glance through NASA's astronaut biographies  and space missions  reveals total diversity in backgrounds, gender, race, religion, and international origins.  In 2005, NASA highlighted African Americans and their historic accomplishments in space.
Twenty-five years ago, Sally Ride was the first American woman in space.  25 years ago. Women have commanded space shuttle missions as well as the International Space Station.
Chickasaw tribal member John Herrington took, the first federally-registered Native American in space, carried a tribal flag into space, along with a blessed eagle feather from elders. Among the international fliers onboard American space shuttles: Payload Specialist Sultan Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Israeli Col. Ilan Ramon.
Ramon died when Columbia broke up during re-entry of the STS-107 mission. That crew is shown above and includes:

There is no excuse for those who would attempt to pull us back from the future, to return to xenophobic stone-age days when anyone who looked different was automatically an enemy. Disagree with someone's views and political orientiations, debate, vote for someone else--but there is no room on this small blue planet for hate crimes.
There are many colors in space, and these words from fallen astronaut McCool, who died aboard Columbis, perhaps best sum up why space, looking back towards our shared home, may offer the best lessons in sharing the human experience: