The Great Leap Forward was Mao's and China's attempt to jump start industrialization without all the pesky capitalism that let money stick to the hands of the people or non-party leaders. It was very painful but nothing compared to the Cultural Revolution that destroyed every vestige of progress civilization made in 2000 years in an orgy of denunciations and deadly punishments. This was swept under the carpet later by Deng. I view it as an exceptionally evil time but both are well beloved by socialists, communists and progressives. (Yes, yes, redundant).
I am genuinely happy to see China put a rover on the moon. I am disappointed that my Chinese made iPad or even iPod camera takes better pictures then what I'm seeing from their rover now. They should absolutely have the coolest video and camera systems ever landed on the Moon and with the number of iPhones I've seen mishandled, you could just about drop-kick a Chinese made small camera to the moon without harming it.
Heinlein and so many other writers thought of the Moon as the High Ground in the struggle for dominance over the Earth. I'm pretty happy to let those that want it, have it. The U.S. claimed it in the name of all mankind but I'd be happy to see just about anybody colonize the moon. Anybody. I had hoped to see it well begun in my lifetime.
On the other hand, I think memory of time changes as we grow older. When I look back at some of these pictures I dimly recall that time, when I was so young, and was allowed to watch mankind land on the moon for the first time. It's easy to forget how close some of the world is to the Industrial Revolution. A revolution that, almost 200 years later, has still left most of the world in the past.
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| Remote driving on the Moon 2013 |
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| Pu-Yi, Last Emperor of China, 1909 - 1912 |
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