Today is the 60th anniversary of President JFK’s famous Moon Speech. 60 years ago he stood in Rice Stadium and inspired a nation to take up the seemingly impossible challenge of putting a person on the Moon by the end of the decade.
This remains my favorite speech of all time and I still get chills – and sometimes tears – when I hear it. JFK blended calls to action (“We choose to go to the moon!”) with basic human motivation (“not because they are easy, but because they are hard”) and even humor (“Why does Rice play Texas?”). As was later said about it, “From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it’s not a miracle, we just decided to go.”
We just decided to go. Well, it was much more than that, but that sentiment really does distill down the agency we had and the infinite possibility of our commitment. The speech truly was virtuosic oration and it has played a large role in my life – including my decision to play football in the very stadium where it was given!
I had the privilege today to return to Rice Stadium to celebrate the speech’s anniversary. Speeches were made by leaders of Rice, NASA, the US federal government, and the Houston local government. 6,000+ students from local schools came to join the festivities too!
I’m not ready to announce my next great climatetech adventure yet, but as a tease, my new startup was also participating in the program, exhibiting and demonstrating how we will create a Moonshot-scale climate impact of 2+ gigatons in this decade – not because it is easy, but because it is hard. Big announcement coming soon – stay tuned!
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