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:: Wednesday, December 17, 2003 ::

Wright Brothers Centennial: cause for national celebration or day of mourning?
How should we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight? George Bush, John Travolta and others will be on hand today in Kitty Hawk, N.C., to celebrate this "milestone that Bill Gates has called 'the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing.'" We'll read and hear news reports aplenty praising the 1903 flight as a testament to humanity's ability to overcome barriers. I, like many others, take aviation for granted, and cannot fathom a life without frequent commercial flight. But before we celebrate this triumphant achievement, we should consider the argument from the folks at Mathaba.net:

December 17 2003 is the centenary of the world's most effective killing machine. ...

When Wilbur Wright was asked, in 1905, what the purpose of his machine might be, he answered simply: "War." As soon as they were confident that the technology worked, the brothers approached the war offices of several nations, hoping to sell their patent to the highest bidder. The US government bought it for $30,000, and started test bombing in 1910. The aeroplane was conceived, designed, tested, developed and sold, in other words, not as a vehicle for tourism, but as an instrument of destruction.

In November 1911, eight years after the first flight, the Italian army carried out the first bombing raid, on a settlement outside Tripoli. Then as now, aerial bombardment was seen as a means of civilising uncooperative peoples.

Full story.

:: Andrew 08:07 + ::
...

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