The sublime Romanticism of the moon landing

Alone, alone, all, all alone on a sea of stars

An astronaut.
(Image credit: Illustrated | 1971yes/iStock, Wikimedia Commons, Thanapol sinsrang/iStock)

The first lunar landing was many things — a D-Day-like feat of planning and logistics, a testament to the power of man's will, an ostensible propaganda coup for NATO. It was also, I think, one of the most misunderstood events in the history of the world.

In practical terms Apollo 11 was meaningless. To say that it represents the beginning of what will one day be the expansion of humanity's horizons into outer space seems to me not only unlikely but inhuman. "Human being," Heidegger said, "consists in dwelling and, indeed, dwelling in the sense of the stay of mortals on the Earth. But 'on the Earth' already means 'under the sky.'" This Earth is where the drama of human life will be played out.

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Matthew Walther

Matthew Walther is a national correspondent at The Week. His work has also appeared in First Things, The Spectator of London, The Catholic Herald, National Review, and other publications. He is currently writing a biography of the Rev. Montague Summers. He is also a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow.