On the news this morning, I saw an interview with the last man who walked on the moon. I don't recall his name, which is embarrassing, but I wasn't really paying attention. The news depresses me. However, this man caught my attention when he objected to being called the last man to walk on the moon. He asserted that a young man or woman living today would walk on the moon again.

I don't hear people talk like that often. With assurance that something big will be accomplished. As a nation, what lofty goals do we have? What aspirations do we work toward?

We bicker. We focus on petty things.

Our people walked the moon. Unlike Icarus, their wings didn't melt. How much nearer the sun could we have gone? How much farther could we still go?

I'm no scientist. I don't understand the rules of space travel, but I've been on a swing. I love best that breathtaking moment, just before the swing falls, when you leave the seat and float in the air, hands holding tight to the chain.

It seems to me that we, as a nation, are at that point. An exhilarating moment. What if we spread our wings and let go the chain? We've been to the moon, so we know we are capable. Just let go the chain and free our hands for what needs doing.

But what's the point if we have no particular place to go? Might as well sit on the swing.