To Boldly Go...

"There are old pilots, there are bold pilots, however, there are very few old, bold pilots"

I have said this before, but I think it bears repeating. I am a sucker for boldness. Bold ideas, bold talk, bold actions. I am drawn to boldness like a moth to a flame. Boldness is one of those virtues which made America great. For example, in September of 1962, then President Kennedy said the following during a speech at Rice Stadium:

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

It turns out this one small segment of a half hour speech is regarded by historians as one of the most significant examples of presidential leadership and vision we have had since the beginning of our republic. We had absolutely no clue how this was going to be done. We had none of the technology needed, and about zero experience in putting someone in orbit, much less to the moon. However, the boldness of this speech intoxicated the imagination of a nation. We came under the vision, bought into it, in July 1969, we did it.

It was the boldness of the Captains of Industry which allowed them to forge a new manufacturing economy out of a mostly agrarian economy; it was the boldness of our leaders and generals which allowed us to defeat a superior and cunning force during World War II; it was the boldness of Apple Computer to become a world leader and innovator by taking on the monolithic duo of IBM and Microsoft for market share when most other companies were acquiescing to the PC and Windows world. Finally, it was the boldness of our Founding Fathers which allowed them to come up with a document so simple, yet so profound, it has been the inspiration of people all over this planet who desire to live free.

As we forge ahead into the new year, we are once again looking for bold thinkers. Thinkers who can look at the landscape, find the right path, and lead us to a better tomorrow. Bold thinkers who can take bold thoughts and turn them into bold action. Bold thinkers who are not afraid to tell the truth and not be influenced by polls and trends. For years, we have had more than our share of charlatans and sellers of snake oil. We crave the real McCoy. We need someone not to tell us we are going to the moon - this time something even better, even bolder. We may not have a clue on how we will do it, but just like in July of 1969, we will figure it out.

Captain Kirk told us at the start of every Star Trek episode that "Space was the final frontier", and that we would "boldly go where nobody has ever gone before". To that I say Captain Kirk was mostly right. Space is a final frontier. However, with the proper vision and as well as American boldness, we will also explore many undiscovered frontiers on this planet as well.