Chris Rush

Looking for a positive diversion from the grim news headlines happening around America the past several days, I watched the joint NASA/SpaceX launch of the manned Falcon 9 rocket last Saturday afternoon, May 30, from Cape Canaveral.

For the first time in years, American astronauts were being propelled into space, not by a Russian rocket but aboard one of our own, to dock with the International Space Station. And uniquely, this was the result of a public-private partnership between NASA and billionaire Elon Musk’s space company, SpaceX.

In what other nation could the ambitions of government and private enterprise align so closely to achieve something so expansive and significant?

The launch itself appeared to proceed flawlessly. Within the span of less than 13 minutes, the rocket lifted off from the southern tip of Florida, accelerated to more than 16,000 miles an hour and achieved an orbit of 200-plus miles above the Earth’s surface. Like something out of an old science fiction B movie, the reusable main stage booster returned to Earth safely by vertically landing precisely on a floating platform. Meanwhile, the Dragon Capsule, christened “Endeavor” for this mission, began its orbital pursuit of the space station. It safely docked with the station early the following morning, again, flawlessly.

For a space nerd like myself who grew up drinking Tang and watching the Apollo program reach the moon, it was an exhilarating diversion. But it also occurred to me that the two veteran astronauts embarking on their mission of up to 120 days in space were temporarily leaving behind a very troubled and increasingly divided nation and world.

Much as it was in 1969, when the Apollo 11 astronauts lifted off from a nation mired in war and conflict, it seems that America is again fracturing along multiple fault lines: racial, social, economic, political and religious.

Most of us have seen the numerous media reports about the death of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers. It was/is disturbing and has come to represent what many people of color feel every day, that they could be racially profiled, detained/arrested, or — worse — potentially lose their lives at the hands of police.

Unfortunately, this tragic episode is not isolated. Similar instances of brutality and disregard for life — specifically black lives — have taken place before. Remember Ferguson, Missouri? But something about George Floyd’s death struck a raw nerve and has brought many of us to a point of “enough is enough.”

The resulting protests, which have spread to virtually every city in America, including Hermiston and Pendleton, underscore a passionate desire for positive change and a righteous demand for racial justice in America.

Unfortunately, anarchists and criminals have hijacked these protests for their own dark purposes. We have all watched in horror as rioters, looters and arsonists from a variety of racial and political backgrounds have systematically gone to war with police and attempted to destroy our cities.

The violence must and will subside over time, but not before others are injured or lose their lives in the process. We must not allow the mayhem to distract from the essential takeaway of George Floyd’s death. Overt racism must be rooted out of every corner of our society, starting with our police forces. It only takes one tragic incident by a callous or racist cop to negatively reflect on the work of thousands of other good men and women performing their duties the right way every day.

America can only be truly great when all of its citizens see equal justice. This is what we must all strive for starting right now. It is my sincere hope that when astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken return to Earth sometime in late summer that they will find their country is in the process of changing for the better.