Risk?

Boortz makes an interesting comment today:

” hosted Newt Gingrich on my show yesterday to talk about his new book “Winning the Future.”  Now I can’t remember if we had this conversation during a commercial break, or during the actual show, but Newt came up with an interesting idea regarding space exploration.  I know I’m going to get this wrong, but Newt said something to the effect that the United States would be much further along in the exploration of space, and in the realization of benefits from that exploration, if we were willing to assume the same level of risk that NASCAR accepts.  There would be no shortage of volunteers who would be willing to accept that risk level in order to participate in space exploration.  Instead, we try to make space exploration as safe as walking across your living room to pick up a magazine.”

There’s a larger point here, and I wonder if even the Talkmaster sees this. No, I’m not talking about space travel alone.  Consider Social Security. Consider our lawsuit-driven society. Consider our regulaitons as regards transportation. Environmental exposures. All phases of healthcare… the very concept behind womb to the tomb government healthcare. The object of all of these is to remove all risk.  As an example, in the case of social security the cost of that risk removal is starting to catch up to us. What have we cost ourselves in terms of progress as a people, for our elimination of risk?

Ever watch a turtle? He’s unable to walk… and will never make any forward progress, without his head coming out of his protective shell. Put another way, you can’t cover ground when you’re concentrating on covering your ass. Our county’s greatest period of invention and achievement, was during a period when the concepts involving elimination of risk were flat-out unheard of. History speaks loudly to the point; Anything that has a large chance of wild success, has with it, an attendant chance of wild failure.

Hmmm. Here’s a concept; Charles Lindburg, flying across the Atlantic.  Imagine the good that trip did for the world, once the goal was achived. Think of the people who died trying to do what Lindburg had done. That kind of trip, I fear would never be contemplated today…. too risky.

No, I’m not suggesting we abandon the concepts of safety altogether… in space, or in anything else.  But here, it seems to me is the biggest demarc between left and right; their reletive understanding of the benefits of RISK. We’ve lost our sense of balance, here. 
Comments?