“Man in the Universe” is the Destiny of Mankind

by Kesha Rogers

There, in the stars, lies the long awaited Age of Reason, when our species sheds at last the cultural residue of the beast. – Lyndon LaRouche

In less than three weeks the most critical international conference since the inauguration of President Donald Trump – the Beijing Belt and Road summit – will convene. On May 14 and 15, the leaders and heads of state from twenty-eight nations will gather, joined by representatives from one hundred and ten countries, industry leaders, business leaders, and others. It has already been announced that Russia’s President Putin will be the highest guest of honor at the conference.

During the last three years, an invitation has been repeatedly extended to the United States to take up the offer of Chinese President Xi Jinping for “win-win” cooperation, to join in the great economic development perspective of the Belt and Road, for the benefit of all nations involved. This offer was first made to former President Obama in 2014, but was summarily rejected by the British-run Wall Street stooge who was then occupying the White House. Obama chose geo-political confrontation over working with China and other nations for the good of mankind.

Now a new opportunity has presented itself. President Trump has expressed serious interest and already taken initial steps toward developing a friendly working relationship with China, as was demonstrated in his recent discussions with President Xi in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Again, the offer of “win-win” peaceful cooperation has been put forth, this time to President Trump. The opportunity now before the United States is very real. Were America to seize this opportunity, the murderous banking and financial looting policies of London and Wall Street might be replaced with a future of expanded economic opportunity, peace and scientific progress. Those are the implications for accepting China’s offer to join in a commitment to the common aims of mankind through “win-win cooperation.” Were President Trump to announce his intention to attend the Belt and Road conference in May, this alone would be a singular action that could well shift the entire global situation.

Not least in importance, by opening up a greater collaboration with the nations of the Belt and Road, a great impetus will be delivered and a greatly enhanced potential will be unleashed for joint efforts in science, particularly cooperative work toward the exploration and development of space. With full U.S. participation, a leap for all of mankind in space exploration becomes immediately and rapidly possible.

The Optimism of Space

On Monday, April 24, President Trump spoke with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). He was joined in the oval office by his daughter Ivanka and astronaut Kate Rubins, and together they spoke with NASA ISS Commander Peggy Whitson and Col. Jack Fisher. The dialogue between the ISS and the President was broadcast live into hundreds of class rooms and space facilities around the United States and was streamed and viewed world-wide as well. The President honored Commander Whitson for her great achievements as the first female commander of the ISS, as well as having spent more time in space than any other American astronaut. Their discussion touched on several topics, including a report from Whitson about the need to understand how microgravity works in space and how it effects the human body. She also reported that they are studying the question of long-duration space missions and the technological advancements that will be required. There are currently over two hundred scientific experiments ongoing aboard the space station.

Col. Fisher stressed the critical importance for international cooperation in space exploration. He talked about his trip to the ISS aboard the Soyuz with his Russian counterpart, veteran Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. Col. Fisher said, “The international space station is, by far, the best example of international cooperation and what we can do when we work together in the history of humanity.” Both American astronauts were explicit concerning the optimism and inspiration which they have taken from their participation in this mission. This was demonstrated most beautifully by Col. Fisher’s when he said, “I would say to all the students that are watching, the time to get excited is now. If you aren’t studying science and math, you might want to think about that because our future in the stars starts now…. And we’re going to find a permanent foothold in the stars for humanity if we do that.”

The Role of Visionary

On March 25 of this year the Schiller Institute extraordinary conference, in Berlin, Germany, to honor the one hundredth anniversary of the great space pioneer Krafft Ehricke. Under the banner of “Krafft Ehricke’s Vision for the Future of Mankind,” Ehricke’s prime thesis that there are no limitations to the progress of mankind in the universe was celebrated and discussed. As if a divine hand had intervened, on the very same day of that conference, President Trump gave his truly inspiring national address in which he declared, after the signing of the NASA authorization act, “With this legislation, we renew our national commitment to NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery. And we continue a tradition that is as old as mankind. We look to the heavens with wonder and curiosity.”

If we are to take up this challenge today it is of paramount importance that every American fully grasp the critical importance that this effort, on behalf of all mankind, is the necessary future. It must also be a shared commitment. All nations – all of humanity – shall benefit from the cooperation among nations for the peaceful use and development of outerspace. This is the ultimate “win-win” solution for all nations. This can be realized through the application of what Lyndon LaRouche has termed “Crash Programs,” i.e., “the tight integration of the most advanced, most fundamental scientific research with the production and development of new technologies in a general way, such that there is no organizational separation between the most fundamental scientific research and production in general.”

The Time to Act

Many initiatives are already underway. On Saturday, April 22, China celebrated its second annual national space day by carrying out the docking of the Tianzhou 1 supply ship docking with China’s Tianzhou 2 space lab, 240 miles above the earth. Two days later China celebrated the anniversary of China’s first space satellite on April 24, 1970, on the very same day that President Trump spoke with the astronauts aboard the international space station

A full participation by the United States in the upcoming Beijing Belt and Road summit would have the immediate effect of advancing this progress dramatically. This is just what is needed. A new future beckons, one wherein the legacy of war, zero-growth and cultural decay will become a memory. Bold action now will make the difference.