On May 29th, Dr. Cornel West was being interviewed on CNN. In that interview, he referred to America as “a failed social experiment.” The next day, Elon Musk launched Bob and Doug into orbit using his revolutionary Falcon 9 rocket, and the equally stunning Dragon capsule, which Bob and Doug named Endeavor, after the now-retired Space Shuttle that had given them both their first ride into space in what was, in comparison to the Dragon capsule, a remarkably 20th Century-looking vehicle. You could hardly call that a failed social experiment.
So which one of these two visions of America is true? Well, the sad reality is that they both are.
Cornel West’s rage-fueled Blue America is a land divided by racial hatreds which, according to West and his colleagues, continues to get worse with each passing year. And yet, the SpaceX Demo-2 launch showed men and women from all racial backgrounds pulling together, their very lives quite literally in each others hands. Musk and his Red America had done something that the entire governments of China, Russia, the European Union and even the United States had failed to do: usher in a 21st Century Space Race II using what used to be called Big Dumb Rockets, but which now delicately (if spectacularly) alight on what is essentially a floating postage stamp in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, named Of Course I Still Love You. That was not just a success; it was, as Elon Musk pointed out after Bob and Doug had reached orbit, a uniquely American achievement. Endeavor is, after all, private property.
It’s clear that Two Americas exist today; not side by side but each inside the other. And that got me wondering what made them so different. Listing the attributes of Team Red vs. Team Blue showed me just how far Team Blue has departed from the historical American norm; it was actually kind of fun — and kind of sad — to stack the attitudes and motivations of Red America and Blue America against each other.
When Cornel West refers to this country as “a failed social experiment,” he’s right. His Blue vision for America is an utter catastrophe. But Red Team is alive and kicking. And, I might add, we are actively recruiting. If sharing this video helps you swing people into a happier and more productive life, feel free to use it in any way you can. That’s what it’s there for.
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