"First Man"

"First Man" is not a great movie.

It's full of good people, including Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. It was directed by Academy Award winner Damien Chazelle, and it tells the story of Neil Armstrong, the 'first man on the moon.' The problem is that Armstrong was apparently so taciturn, so guarded emotionally, that there's not much to hang a drama on.

So, even with all of that talent involved, it's a slightly above average movie. Certainly nowhere close to "The Right Stuff", which is a classic. Not nearly as entertaining as "Apollo 13".

What is interesting, at least for me, is that the film is a stark reminder that as a nation, we used to do great things--or at least attempt them.

As JFK said about going to the moon, "we choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

We don't even attempt hard things anymore. Now all we seem to be able to do is tread water.

We give tax cuts to billionaires, keep Defense contractors fat and happy, make sure every nut has access to all the guns he or she needs, and meddle in women's private lives.

Massive infrastructure rebuild? Na.

Green energy program? Na.

Universal health care? Na.

These are all easier than going to the moon. But...na.

Let's not even think about a concerted national effort to curb the increasingly obvious effects of global warming.

For these things we'd need leadership on both sides of the aisle.

And one side has decided that nothing is as important as keeping their rich backers satisfied and their crazy base in a constant state of agitation.

Just like that, we've turned into a sad, empty husk of what we once were.