Growing up, I was fascinated by manned missions to the moon. Today is the 40th anniversary of the US Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
I was pretty young at the time, and I had a grandaunt that did not believe people had landed on the moon. While watching the astronauts on TV run around on the moon, she said, “They’re just actors.” My mom encouraged me to change the subject. She was in her 90s, and she wasn’t going to be convinced that anything on TV was true.
It actually surprised me to learn that a poll of Brits show a quarter believe the Apollo 11 moon mission was staged. I mean, it was sort of funny that about 1% thought Buzz Lightyear was the first person on the moon, but a quarter believe it to be a hoax?!
I have no recent figures, but in 1999, according to Wikipedia, 6% of Americans doubted the lunar landing. A 2000 survey of Russians showed 28% did not believe it either.
Do I have a point? I don’t know. Maybe it’s just something to keep in mind next time I cannot convince someone of what I know to be true.
I wonder if some of the skepticism reflects nationalism.
If our country didn't do it, nobody could have.
You may very well have a point there. Many Brits still act as though they control the world (an attitude not necessarily unique to them, either). Of course, the US is likewise sticking its head in the sand as its influence weakens around the globe. Perhaps denial is part of the process of the decline of an empire. In fact, it may very well be a part of the overall reason for decline. After all, admitting to a problem might lead to a solution, no?