NASA astro-biologists have found ET life out there is much more likely than they once thought. Felisa Wolfe-Simon reports in NEW SCIENCE: "Life can survive in planets we once deemed too harsh." And while this is fascinating about other planets, planetary life right here continues to fascinate. And befuddle. Because we're still trying to understand it. Take for instance the planetary life here in the United States....
About 150 years ago a brilliant French visitor, Alex Tocqueville, found "Americans a bold, impetuous new breed." Our impetuosity intrigued him. It intrigues to this very day, for to this very day we remain a young, and therefore, impetuous people. We prefer checkers to chess, like our plays in two acts rather than three, always opt for doing more than delaying.
This quality has helped tame forests, forge rivers, conquer mountains, and find it in our heart to lavish everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Jesse James, Andrew Carnegie to Al Capone, Clark Gable to Paris Hilton, the Congressional Medal of Honor to a suitcase in a TV game show. What can I say!
However, impetuosity for all its glitz and glamor has its downside. Notice how...
* ... quarterbacks who were heroes starting the game are trade-bait bums after a loss
* ... presidents who we laud one day are losers any day they don't do what I want
* ... the news is bad for the nation unless it's good for me; when it's good for me, it's just plain good
* ... my opinions are my opinions; ignore that man behind the curtain whose column I just got it from
* ... there are only two kinds of people in the world: Americans & those who want to be Americans
Actually Tocqueville initially came here to study our prison system. Actually NASA initially discounted extra-terrestrial life. Actually most Americans don't care one way or the other about such matters, because you see we're busy doing more important things. What things...? Don't be so impetuous. I'll let you know when I'm good and ready.
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