Two days ago a new line was drawn.  This line doesn’t appear on any map; and you have less than ten years to decide which side to stand on.  But make no mistake, you must decide.

MARS ONE is planning to send people on a one-way trip to Mars.  Hold.  Stop here before a response has time to form.  Your reaction to this simple and understandable piece of information exposes more about you, both as an individual and as a member of the human race, than any other thought you’ve ever formulated.  Sharing your reaction with others is the fullest example of vulnerability I can conceive.

From now until the precise moment of lift-off each person living has been given a part to play in mankind’s greatest collective internal struggle.  What is it all about?

Hermeneutics is the word philosophers use to describe the science of interpreting life.  That is, the big unanswerable questions that most people think are pointless.  These pointless questions have just challenged you to a duel by slapping your face.  No longer can you ignore them or pretend that they are pointless.  Like it or not, you are being forced to choose.  No answer you’ve ever given compares in weight with how you choose to answer the following question:  Is MARS ONE a joke?

Answering this question is as fundamentally instructive to your self-discovery as Mr. Miyagi’s using car wax and fence paint was to Daniel’s learning karate.

If you find yourself drawn to laugh and say MARS ONE is a joke, you’re not just asserting what you think about the capabilities of the organization.  You’re commenting on the goal of establishing a human settlement on Mars, itself only another step for mankind.

If your instinct is to withhold judgment until further investigation affords you an answer, lump yourself in with those who think it is a joke.

If on the other hand, you answer an emphatic “No!” because you recognize the human spirit defining nature inherent to the ambition of the goal, you’ve made it.  Move to the head of the class.  “What is possible is done; what is impossible will be done.”

In 2023 the efforts of MARS ONE will have amassed the sharp focus of humanity as the project makes its mark not just on Earth, but on the human spirit.  Is MARS ONE a joke?  What do you think?