Recently, in Florida, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich proposed his grandiose plan to — if he were elected president — and lucky enough to be elected for two consecutive terms— build a permanent colony on our moon by the end of his second term. In addition to this, he suggested we would also conduct regular flights to Mars.
Sound a little crazy to you?
Yeah, same here.
Let's consider both sides of this proposal. Firstly, we can't condemn Gingrich for such an idea. Many times, the question of, "If we have the technology to visit the moon, why haven't we done so in 40 or 50 years?" has popped up in conversation on NASA and its future. It absolutely makes sense for us to return there at some point.
But is now — or rather, eight years from now, at the end of Gingrich's imaginary second term — the time for such a project?
As of right now, our country is:
- in debt
- in budget deficit
- still spending money where we probably don't need to
Should we throw an extra trillion or two in to build a colony on the moon?
Newt Gingrich thinks so.
But guess who else thinks so?
Gingrich's audience in Florida — those US citizens to whom he was speaking.
(http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/26/newt-gingrich-gets-angry-again-in-florida.html)
Newt Gingrich may have some interesting ideas, but I'll never consider him uninformed or unintelligent because — get this —
Gingrich's audience was chockfull of citizens who had lost their jobs as a result of the space shuttle Atlantis's final deploy in the universe.
Imagine: in summer of 2011, after Atlantis lifted one last time, and the idea of astronauts seemed utterly absurd, you lost your job. Now, a presidential candidate is promising a colony on the moon and flights to Mars. Not only would you most likely gain your job back, you would also be involved in an incredibly huge and intense space race. Sound good?
It would to me, too.
Gingrich did his research. He clearly knew who he was talking to, and used effective, blunt, precise language and delivery to win over the crowd in Florida.
I see someone's been reading Rhetoric and Civic Life.
Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!! Being a huge STAR WARS fan I would love to see this put in place. I mean every time it is a bright day outside and I can see the moon I wish we were in Star Wars!
ReplyDeleteThe angered citizen in me is thinking that Gingrich is a moron (not to mention he left his wife who was having cancer). However, the little kid in me is feeling extravagantly giddy.
ReplyDeleteAS terrible as I think this idea is, seeing the issues currently facing our country, I have to admit, Gingrich knows how to speak to a specific audience, which is why he has done as well as he has. His command of rhetoric is truly excellent.
ReplyDeleteOh man, you make an incredibly logical arguement here (logos!). I had blown off this crazy idea of Newt Gringrich's without a second thought. It's true though--he certainly did his research and found his audience. He used rhetoric to his advantage.
ReplyDeleteI just tried looking for a video on youtube to post here, but it was taken off youtube. It was a video about Newt and his crazy moon idea on a skit on SNL. Its hilarious.
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