Professor Bronk’s comments remind me, as I am reminded almost daily, that we are truly living in the future. Science and technology continually present us with a new reality and force us to cope with it. This is true on the personal level – mastering the smartphone, online banking, etc. — on the global level, new weapons and communications systems, their strengths and vulnerabilities — and, on the universe level, more than 800 planets discovered so far (some of which have many of the characteristics necessary for life) and, closer to “home,” the reality of tourists posed to vacation in near earth space in the near future.
It is exciting to live in Houston Texas where so much of this exploration of tomorrow is occurring today. The medical center and the space center are twin centers of the future and of the present. High tech and energy industries and research are also expanding the possible and encouraging us daily to find our places in this new reality. It is a world full of wonder and of danger. And, ultimately, it is our responsiblities – whether politicians, academicians, businesspersons, workers, or just plain citizens to entertain the challenges that confront us and will shape our world and our place in it for the years to come.
Nathan Carliner Goldman, J.D., Ph.D., is the author of several books on the politics, business, and law of outer space, which have been used in college courses, including at the US Air Force Academy. Goldman is also a published poet and an award-winning screenwriter, including four Remi Awards at Worldfest. At present, Goldman is adjunct professor of government at San Jacinto College and Alvin College.