CHOOSE EARTH

This brought tears to my eyes this morning:

“We will always choose Earth,” Christina Koch, a mission specialist on Artemis II, said once the crew members regained communications. “We will always choose each other.”

It’s from this short NYT article (gifted in case you don’t have a subscription). The Artemis capsule lost contact with Earth when it circled around the far side of the moon. This was their message when communications returned. It’s a stunning contrast to the sentiment being shared by our president, who is vowing to “wipe out a civilization” by 8 pm tonight, selling it as if it were some must-watch reality TV segment. I’m enraged and disgusted by our careless, thoughtless, criminal president; I am inspired and made hopeful by the Artemis crew.

We should be listening to the advice of these brave astronauts, who are being given a once-in-a-generation perspective on the wholeness of our Earth and our humanity; we should not be listening to an addled narcissist with all the imagination and perspective of a rock. Let’s hear that again, from Ms Koch:

“We will always choose Earth,” Christina Koch, a mission specialist on Artemis II, said once the crew members regained communications. “We will always choose each other.”

Let’s choose Earth. Let’s choose each other.

Fuck yeah.