More than the flag

I have been fortunate in my lifetime to witness the exploration of the entire solar system, from the launch of Sputnik in October 1957 to the New Horizons flyby of Pluto in July 2015.

A highlight was in July 1969 when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

Like many who lived in that era, I have been looking forward to First Man, the upcoming biopic about Armstrong. I was surprised, therefore, to hear of the controversy that has erupted around the movie not showing the planting of the American flag.

Armstrong made clear with his first words “…one giant leap for mankind” that this was an achievement of humanity, not just of the U.S., and he certainly did not try to claim the Moon for his own nation as early explorers sometimes did here on Earth. Indeed, there are international agreements on that aspect of space exploration.

However, it is a fact that the Apollo moon program was largely an American national achievement and the planting of the flag was a signal moment of the first landing. How is this different than raising a flag and playing a national anthem for an Olympic gold medal winner?

Current American politics aside, this seems to be an example of revisionist history and political correctness gone too far.

Mike Nash

Prince George