From the Earth to the moon – it’s farther than you think

Neil Armstrong died on Saturday.

The first human being to set foot on another celestial body was 82, the personification of an America that in less than 10 years gazed upon the moon and then journeyed there, just because we decided to go.

The achievement is still amazing, 43 years later. The science involved, the mathematical know-how, the design and construction of the vessels to carry people there -- all guided by computers with far less processing power than the cellphone you're carrying in your pocket. 

The America of July 20, 1969, seems like an eternity ago, a time when there were no limits to what this nation could do, if only somebody galvanized our effort. And why not? That was the America that had fought a war for its independence, fought another to remain one nation, that pulled together to fight its way out of a Depression, and then took up arms to defeat the forces of global fascism.

Armstrong and his fellow astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, were America at its best.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Republican National Convention was preparing to kick off, and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval previewed his convention speech for reporters. Among his points: That the administration of President Barack Obama had given up on the American dream.

Really, I asked? Sandoval was prepared to tell a national and international television audience that the president of the United States has given up on the American dream?

"I do believe that the current administration seems to have given up on the American dream, and they've put all their faith in government programs, not the people," Sandoval said in reply. (The governor specifically cited Obama's much-misunderstood quote telling business owners "you didn't build that.")

Well, the Apollo mission was a "government program," but it certainly would never have happened without the people of this country, from engineers to tradesmen, administrators to astronauts willing to risk their lives to take the first brave steps into a new frontier.

But that doesn't seem to be what Sandoval and his fellows at the Republican convention are talking about, does it? The usually upbeat, hardly partisan governor was dwelling on "suffocating government regulations," which, when pressed, he could not list. He was dwelling on a frustrating economy that's not adding jobs nearly as fast as workers need them. Sandoval the optimist had succumbed to pessimism occasioned by tough times with little relief in sight.

It's the difference between asking not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, and asking if you're better off now than you were four years ago. It's the distance between putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade and returning him safely to Earth, and "it's the economy, stupid."

Obama, with his belief that we all rely on each other for our mutual success, stands in stark contrast with Romney, who believes that individual achievements count more than cooperation. That's an historical irony, given that Obama's forebear John F. Kennedy and Romney's example, Ronald Reagan, were equally good at convincing Americans that America is a great nation with a great people who can achieve great things, when they're not set at each other's throats in order to fight and win the next election by politicians who appeal to their tribal loyalties instead of their better angels.

July 20, 1969, was a long time ago. Today things are different. Today the moon isn't a dream or a destination.

Maybe it's not that the Obama administration has given up on the American dream. Maybe it's that we all have.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist and author of the blog SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at (702) 387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.