Today is the sixtieth anniversary. I wrote this on the fortieth anniversary, and it holds up pretty well, I think. “Because it is hard” is a dumb reason to do something.
10 thoughts on “The Rice Speech”
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Today is the sixtieth anniversary. I wrote this on the fortieth anniversary, and it holds up pretty well, I think. “Because it is hard” is a dumb reason to do something.
Comments are closed.
Instead of a Moon Landing OR a Space Station, we should have just orbited a gigantic, illuminated US Flag, big enough to be seen by the naked eye from the ground. Point made. 🙂
Make it the Coca Cola trademark logo instead and same point and at zero cost to the US taxpayers….
Do both. Put the Coca Cola trademark on the moon.
(yeah, I know it’s not my idea)
There are many people that insult those doing things “the easy way”. Our company response is that we get paid by the square foot, not the sweat gallon.
My wife was there. She was four years old. Her mom thought the kids should hear the President speak.
I can’t say JFK had this context in mind. But “because it is hard” certainly came up in discussions of why the US should NOT try ballistic missile defense. “It’s like trying to shoot a bullet at a bullet” was the metaphor often employed. Not just difficult, but nearly impossible.
Yet the president pushing for “space-based strategic defense” was pushing against leaders of an evil empire that had just squandered their early advantages in orbit; and in lunar missions. They knew exactly how hard such projects were. And they saw their rivals complete those projects.
When I am asked to perform a minor household chore at home, I respond, “I will do this and those other things, not because they are easy, but because . . .” to which the rejoinder is, “OK, Mr. Sorensen, bring up four cans of beans and two cans of stewed tomatoes from downstairs.”
“Because it is hard” is a dumb reason to do something.
We do these things because it’s what we do.
Is even dumber-er.
“Because it is hard” is a dumb reason to do something.”
Not necessarily/. It’s a great reason to do certain things…(nudge nudge, wink wink, say so more).