Highbrow Magazine - president kennedy https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/president-kennedy en ‘Down in Dallas Town’ Explores JFK’s Tragic Death and Its Aftermath 60 Years Later https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/24187-down-dallas-town-explores-jfk-s-tragic-death-and-its-aftermath <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 11/20/2023 - 15:50</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1kennedys_0.jpg?itok=b7sg1K3y"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1kennedys_0.jpg?itok=b7sg1K3y" width="480" height="322" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Sixty years later, the wound of President Kennedy’s death still haunts Americans. For some, it symbolizes the erosion of American decency, while for others, it's the root of their distrust in institutions, an issue that continues to afflict the American populace. To grasp its impact, one must delve into the cultural context surrounding that fateful event. Fortunately, the foundation of 20th and 21st-century American art often leads back to Dallas, Texas, in 1963. This is where Alan Govenar's documentary, <em>Down in Dallas Town: From JFK to K2</em> (<a href="https://www.firstrunfeatures.com/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">First Run Features</a>) begins its narrative.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Govenar's film explores public memory in Dallas six decades after Kennedy's assassination. Filmed almost entirely in Dallas, it delves into the aftermath of the assassination and its enduring influence on contemporary American issues, including conspiracy theories, gun violence, homelessness, and drugs—all of which can be traced back to that original tragedy of November 22, 1963. His thesis is vast, though, as any historian would tell you, such comprehensiveness isn't always a good thing.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2kennedys.jpg" style="height:377px; width:670px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">What I found truly commendable about Alan Govenar's approach was his emphasis on primary sources. While many have chronicled the people who witnessed the events of that day firsthand, the aftermath often goes overlooked. Six decades later, those individuals can still vividly recall the gunshots as they approached Dealey Plaza. Govenar's intellectual curiosity in focusing on the people, rather than the event itself, demonstrates a genuine appreciation for the discipline of historical scholarship.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Narratively, Govenar's thesis is most compelling when he directs his lens toward the ordinary citizens of Dallas going about their daily lives. What he captures is the ongoing motion of American society. In every corner of Dallas, people remain divided, and everyone has a story to share about Kennedy. This approach creates a haunting portrait of the lingering trauma that pervades the streets of Dallas.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3kennedys.jpg" style="height:371px; width:672px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">However,<em> Down in Dallas Town</em> is not without its flaws. Throughout the film, musical recordings are used as transitions when Govenar shifts from one societal issue to another. While each song—be it rock, blues, gospel, or calypso—shares JFK as a common subject matter, the intended effect is to convey the enduring pain caused by the assassination and contrast it with today's issues. Unfortunately, these interludes tend to halt the film's momentum. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">For history enthusiasts, there is much to appreciate in <em>Down in Dallas Town</em>. One particular sequence involving a Polaroid picture taken on November 22, 1963, by a woman named Mary Ann Moorman is worth the price of admission alone. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4kennedys.jpg" style="height:377px; width:671px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Alan Govenar's narrative didn't fundamentally reshape my understanding of the cultural response to President Kennedy's assassination. As a narrative and historical exercise, it doesn't fully coalesce, and perhaps that's intentional. Individuals, especially historians, often spend so much time looking at the past that they forget to consider the future. History is not just the story of where we were; it's about exploring where we are now and how we got here to make sense of our existence—a distinction Govenar understands better than most.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Author Bio:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Ben Friedman is a contributing writer and film critic at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Photo credits: Victor Hugo King (Public domain, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_F._Kennedy_motorcade,_Dallas_crop.png" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Wikimedia.org</a>, Creative Commons); First Run Features</em></strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jfk" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jfk</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-kennedy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">president kennedy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jackie-kennedy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jackie kennedy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/death-jfk" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">death of jfk</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/american-tragedy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">american tragedy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/dallas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">dallas</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/texas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Texas</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/presidents" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">presidents</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ben Friedman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In Slider</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-videos field-type-video-embed-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <div class="embedded-video"> <div class="player"> <iframe class="" width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JPp9NUHf-Jc?width%3D640%26amp%3Bheight%3D360%26amp%3Bautoplay%3D0%26amp%3Bvq%3Dlarge%26amp%3Brel%3D0%26amp%3Bcontrols%3D1%26amp%3Bautohide%3D2%26amp%3Bshowinfo%3D1%26amp%3Bmodestbranding%3D0%26amp%3Btheme%3Ddark%26amp%3Biv_load_policy%3D1%26amp%3Bwmode%3Dopaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> </div> </div></div></div> Mon, 20 Nov 2023 20:50:18 +0000 tara 12798 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/24187-down-dallas-town-explores-jfk-s-tragic-death-and-its-aftermath#comments A Fresh Look at Pre-Camelot Kennedy in Fredrik Logevall’s ‘JFK’ https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/11241-fresh-look-pre-camelot-kennedy-frederick-logevall-s-jfk <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/books-fiction" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Books &amp; Fiction</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 02/02/2021 - 20:35</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2jfk_cecil_stoughton-whitehouse-wikipedia.jpg?itok=G72AwW0l"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2jfk_cecil_stoughton-whitehouse-wikipedia.jpg?itok=G72AwW0l" width="478" height="480" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century 1917-1956</strong></p> <p><strong>By Fredrik Logevall</strong></p> <p><strong>Random House </strong></p> <p><strong>792 pages</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>A public figure’s early formative years are always viewed through the lens of what that individual later becomes—opera singer, four-star general, legendary quarterback, celebrity cook, and so on. When it comes to the life story of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, these “early years” take on added significance in light of a century-defining act of political violence—the Kennedy assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963.</p> <p> </p> <p>On that day, the so-called “Camelot Presidency” came to a tragic end.</p> <p> </p> <p>In his sweeping new biography, <em>JFK, </em>Pulitzer-Prizewinning historian Fredrik Logevall recounts the story of this dynasty son’s rise in the years before his 1960 presidential campaign. Logevall’s stated goal is to delve deeper into Kennedy’s origins than past biographers, but also to prove that the “more we understand Kennedy and his coming of age … the more we understand the United States in the middle of the [20th] century.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Attempting to separate the man from the myth is, in Kennedy’s case, no easy task. Even now, decades after his assassination, the Camelot mystique still clings to his all-too-brief tenure as commander-in-chief.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1jfk_abbie_rowe-nps-wikimedia.jpg" style="height:474px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>For Logevall, “any serious attempt to recreate Kennedy’s world as he experienced it requires suspending as much as possible the knowledge of how it all turned out.” By doing so, history “can look the man right in the eye, not up in adulation or down in disdain.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Born in 1917, “Jack” Kennedy grew up within the sheltered world created and perpetuated by his father, Joseph, a hugely successful banker and, eventually, the mercurial US Ambassador to the Court of St. James in London. In a family of extraordinary wealth, a Kennedy son was, from the outset, being groomed to attain the highest office in the land.</p> <p> </p> <p>At the beginning, however, that person was supposed to be Joseph Kennedy, Jr., the patriarch’s oldest son. After his death in a B24 bomber explosion in 1944, the mantle fell to the next in line, JFK.</p> <p> </p> <p>Much of <em>JFK </em>centers on the tumultuous 1930s and the worldwide conflagration following Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. Two years earlier, Jack and his friend Lem Billings spent several months on an undergraduate tour of Europe, including a visit to Munich and Nuremburg, where “Nazi fever” was running strong. The trip turned out to represent a pivotal point in the young Kennedy’s views on world affairs. Just as importantly, he began the journey away from his father’s isolationist approach to understanding the need to grapple with the fast-approaching global conflict.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3jfk.jpg" style="height:542px; width:359px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>JFK’s “determination to form independent judgments rather than simply echo his father’s assessments or give in to lazy isolationist clichés about ‘foreigners’ grew stronger,” the author writes. So did his “willingness to view world affairs in contextual, dispassionate terms—a contrast with his father, who tended always to view the outside world mostly in terms of what it meant for himself and his family.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Another pivotal event (in a life crowded with them) occurred in the South Pacific in 1943.  The patrol boat Kennedy commanded, PT 109, was attacked by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy’s bravery in saving members of the shipwrecked crew led to decorations for heroism and, later, a bestselling book about the traumatic event. All of this helped pave the way for an eventual run for public office, first as a congressman and later as a senator from the state of Massachusetts.</p> <p> </p> <p>The author succeeds in avoiding “looking down in disdain” at JFK, as this is by and large an admiring biography of the future president. In the interests of a comprehensive account, Logevall doesn’t shy away from cataloguing Kennedy’s philandering and, in more detail than before, his many physical ailments. The writing throughout this lengthy biography is smooth, well-reasoned, and never hyperbolic.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century </em>is a solid achievement, the first volume in a projected two-volume biography covering the life of our most glamorous president.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Lee Polevoi, chief book critic for </em></strong><strong>Highbrow Magazine, <em>is the author of a novel, </em>The Moon in Deep Winter.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p><em>--Abbie Rowe (National Park Service, </em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_F._Kennedy_Inaugural_Ball,_20_January_1961.jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikimedia</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--Random House</em></p> <p><em>--Cecil Stoughton (White House, </em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ARC194238-JFK-Robert-Edward.jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikipedia</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/frederick-logevall" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Frederick Logevall</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jfk-coming-age-american-century" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-kennedy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">president kennedy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/camelot-years" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Camelot years</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jackie-kennedy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jackie kennedy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/john-f-kennedy-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">John F. Kennedy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/kennedys" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the kennedys</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Lee Polevoi</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 03 Feb 2021 01:35:05 +0000 tara 10140 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/11241-fresh-look-pre-camelot-kennedy-frederick-logevall-s-jfk#comments From the Moon to Mars: JFK May Have Created a Monster https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1463-moon-mars-jfk-may-have-created-monster <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 08/12/2012 - 13:20</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediummarsnasa%20%28wikipedia%29.jpg?itok=O6Sofu1d"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediummarsnasa%20%28wikipedia%29.jpg?itok=O6Sofu1d" width="480" height="358" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/08/curiosity-for-life-on-mars-our-place-is-in-space.php">New America Media</a>: </p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>--The </em><em>United States</em><em> was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward, and so will space.</em> - <strong>John F. Kennedy, 1962</strong></p> <p> <em>--We choose to go to the </em><em>moon...</em><strong>John</strong><strong> F. Kennedy, 1962</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> Mars has become a very busy place, being orbited by satellites and crisscrossed by Land Rovers. As if that's not enough, Curiosity, a roving science laboratory, just successful landed at the planet's ancient crater to probe for signs that the planet was life-friendly in the past.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Indeed, we are mapping and processing our neighboring planet so extensively that it feels as if Mars has already been colonized. There is even a Google Mars website if you want to see the planet's surface in technicolor.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Man, despite our earthly crises, remains enthralled by the cosmos. NASA is planning manned missions to Mars in the 2030s -- with the cooperation of Japan and Europe -- and plans to establish a permanent station on the moon. China, too, hopes to have a manned station orbiting the moon, having sent a moon orbiter in 2010 to map it out and in 2013, it'll send a landing rover. All the while, our satellites, probes and telescopes are peering deep into the heavens looking for signs of extraterrestrial life.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Welcome to the post-global age. We are now entering an age where human interactions reach beyond the stratospheres of our world towards the cosmos.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Call it cosmozation, or better yet, empyrealization -- an age where man's reach for the heavens is realized. Neither words exist yet in the dictionary, but for that matter, neither did globalization three decades ago (so feel free to come up with a coinage that may be apropos to our post-global age.)</p> <p>  </p> <p> Roland Robertson, a social scientist, defines globalization as "the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole." The world shrinks, geographical constraints are overcome, while identities become multilayered, complex. As a species, we may not always get along with each other, but these days, thanks to an integrated economy and unprecedented mass movement across the various borders, and modern technology -- satellites, cell phones, jet planes, the Internet, and so on -- we are, like it or not, constantly aware of each other's existence.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Taking Robertson's definition a step further, it seems inevitable that the universe, too, shrinks and compresses as we explore and measure it, and as we infer profound implications from our discoveries. Cosmozation, or empyrealization, is then the process by which man's awareness and influence expand beyond our planet: We grow cognizant that we exist on intimate levels with the rest of the universe, that we are interacting with it, and, increasingly, having an effect upon it.</p> <p>  </p> <p> While thinkers and writers still haven't come to terms with the full impact of the forces of globalization, another age is already upon us -- one in which man's awareness expands beyond the globe as his relationship with the cosmos intensifies.</p> <p>  </p> <p> There's a radical shift taking place in regards to our relationship with the universe. Not so long ago, until Copernicus came along, we assumed our world was the universe's center -- and, for that matter, flat -- and that the sun orbited Earth. Most of last century we held on to the notion that our solar system was unique. And scientists just a generation ago assumed, too, that conditions on Earth -- a protective atmosphere, ample water and volcanic activity -- made it the only planet that could possibly support life.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Now we know that the conditions on our home planet may be unique, but solar systems are not at all anomalies. In fact, we are in the process of accepting that we are very much part of the larger universe. Furthermore, by sending space probes to the edge of the solar system, by collecting moon rocks and comet dust, by landing probes on Mars to dig for soils and search for signs of life, we are in constant exchange with the universe.</p> <p>  </p> <p> As astonishing discoveries are being made, that sense of self-importance has eroded, giving way to a more humble assessment of our place in the cosmos.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumkennedyspace%20%28TimeLifePictures%29.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 330px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> Consider some of these recent discoveries.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *Using the Hubble telescopes and the Kepler observatory, which orbit Earth, and the Hale Telescope in California, astronomers have discovered hundreds of other solar systems, and nearly 800 exoplanets -- planets that are outside our solar systems. One planet in particular, 150 million light years away, is believed to have an atmosphere.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *We know that Earth is constantly bombarded by meteors when we look up into the night sky and spot shooting stars. But more astounding is astronomer Lou Frank's recent discovery. Using the Hubble Telescope to study Earth's atmosphere, Frank proved that Earth is constantly being hit by snowballs from space. The implications are enormous: If ice from outer space hits Earth regularly, it could be "raining" onto other planets too, providing much-needed water to support life. The universe is suddenly very wet.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *A few years ago a meteorite from Mars found on Earth, known as the Allan Hills meteorite (or ALH 84001 to scientists), astonished everyone when some scientists claimed they found tantalizing traces of fossilized life within it. Their findings have been contested, but the discovery fired up the imagination.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *Moreover, the Galileo space probe that orbited Jupiter showed us that on Europa, one on Jupiter's many moons, huge oceans lie beneath an icy surface. Scientists found active volcanoes as well -- that is to say, ingredients that could spark and possibly support life.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *More tantalizing still is the organic materials found in comet dust collected from the comet Wild 2. Here's NASA's press release on the comet dust brought back to Earth by the space probe Stardust: "These chunks of ice and dust wandering our solar system appear to be filled with organic molecules that are the building blocks of life."</p> <p>  </p> <p> The finding surprised scientists because many predicted that the space probe would find mostly ice. Instead, the finding could lend support to the belief that comets could have "seeded" life on our planet as well as others.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *Then, of course, there's the discovery of water on the moon. Scientists found this by deliberately crashing a rocket stage into the moon in 2009, and, in the floor of a permanently shadowed crater, found up to a billion gallons of water and ice near the moon's south pole.</p> <p>  </p> <p> And if there's water aplenty in the universe, then why not DNA? "Panspermia" (originating from the Greek word for "all-seeding"), the hypothesis that seeds of life could have been delivered to Earth -- and possibly other planets -- is now revised; this theory of an interstellar exchange of DNA was championed by Francis Crick, who discovered the DNA molecule with two other scientists more than half a century ago, was ridiculed last century. But if scientists laughed behind the Nobel laureate's back when he first suggested it, no one is laughing now.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Besides, there is such a thing as self-fulfilling prophecy: If Earth didn't receive DNA for a primordial startup way back when, we are now actively sending out our earthly DNA to space via the forms of various microbes that are riding along with our space crafts and satellites and shuttles that are scattered out into the universe.</p> <p>  </p> <p> As a result, ours is no longer just a lonely blue planet amidst the heavens. As we send probes and manned missions to the comos and map the universe, as we enthusiastically search for signs of life elsewhere and collect comet dust -- earth seems to exist increasingly as part of an open and intricately complex system.</p> <p>  </p> <p> War and strife and revolutions and bloodshed seem endless on our home world, but when man gazes up at the night sky, it remains alluring and sublime. To paraphrase the great mythologist, Joseph Campbell, that sea on which humanity now sails is infinitely more vast than that imagined by Columbus. And with a rover named Curiosity actively searching for signs of past life on Mars, there's no doubt that our place is in space, and the cosmic age has indeed arrived.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Andrew Lam is an editor with New America Media and the author of</em> Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora <em>and</em> East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: Wikipedia; Time-Life Pictures.</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/space-exploration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">space exploration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cosmos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cosmos</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mars" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mars</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/curiosity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">curiosity</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nasa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">nasa</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/moon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the moon</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jfk" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jfk</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-kennedy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">president kennedy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hubble-telescoper" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hubble telescoper</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/planet-earth" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">planet Earth</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/lilfe-mars" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">lilfe on mars</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/planets" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">planets</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/allan-hills-meteorite" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">allan hills meteorite</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Andrew Lam</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:20:17 +0000 tara 1388 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1463-moon-mars-jfk-may-have-created-monster#comments