Remember Sputnik? For many, it’s just a dim memory from a history book. But for those of us who were youngsters on October 4,1957, it was stunning and shocking. We were growing up in a country that was, frankly, kinda arrogant.

America had led the coalition that won World War II. People all over the world seemed fascinated with American movies and music. The 1950’s were an optimistic time, when American power seemed limitless.

Sputnik frightened us. Was this a step toward Russia sending bombs at us from outer space? Did this mean that American science and technology were not the best in the world? How could this have happened? Were American schools failing?Those were just a few of the many questions that were raised on the national and local news.

In classrooms of Wichita Kansas public schools, where I was going to school, TV’s were brought in so we could watch Sputnik, again and again. While weighing less that 200 pounds, that Russian satellite had an enormous impact.

50 years have passed since Sputnik was launched. The most pessimist predictions have not come to pass. Russian bombs did not come at us from outer space. We did not have a nuclear war. We are not ruled by Russians.

But I think Sputnik was good for this country. It was a forceful reminder that America will not always lead. We will not always be first. We can learn fro others. In retrospect, it was a huge national lessons in humility.

Sputnik also can be viewed in another way. Sometimes people insist that if this or that isn’t done, we are doomed.

But this is a country of vast resources, incredible opportunities and enormous creativity. We need to retain a sense of perspective. We can do wonderful things - and have.

We have plenty of problems. But we also have the capacity to overcome many of them.
For me, there’s a three part lesson from Sputnik. First, humility. Second, don’t be overwhelmed by fear. Things are rarely as bad as they may seem. Finally, when given a challenge, Americans respond, often magnificently. On balance, I think Sputnik was very good for this country.

Do you agree? What do you recall, if you were alive on October 4, 1957. I’d love to hear from others about their recollections of Sputnik. If you send a note to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , I’ll post what you share on the Center for School Change website.

Reader remarks:

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the column and I loved it. I remember Sputnik very well. I have always been a follower of space exploration and in junior high, I would do many of my social studies reports on space exploration. I remember the Russians and Yuri Gagarin and watched as our rockets were exploding on the launching pad. We then had Alan Shepard go into space and we really made advancements when John Glenn made his orbital flight.

Your analysis and comparisons were very well done. I agree that Sputnik was good for us. It put us into gear and spurred JFK to make his promise of putting a man on the moon before the decade of the 1960s was out. It's still unbelievable to me that we have put several men on the moon.

Great job!

Howard L.

 

Joe,

I wasn't alive when Sputnik launched but, as a history buff, have a couple of thoughts anyway.

I agree that Sputnik was great for this country but for different reasons. Yes, in the short term it was a humbling experience, but in the long run it demonstrated the superiority of our social systems. Just over a decade after Sputnik the USA was putting humans on the moon, a feat the Soviets never got close to. Any doubt about what can be accomplished by a capitalist society vs. a communist one disappeared forever.

50 years later, the USA has a net of satellites, both private and government, that nets the entire globe. The Soviets...well...they went the way of the dodo.

As to your remarks about cold war fears, those I experienced in detail during the late 70s and through the 80s. Many of us growing up with the red menace and Reagan pulling the tiger's tail were convinced we would not see adulthood in any substantive way. Films like "The Day After" and fear of "nuclear winter" fed that feeling. Many of us packed an awful lot of adult experiences into our childhoods, which was at times good, and much more often bad. The two countries had the arms race, the rest of us were in a race to experience things denied us as children, like sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. We lost our virginity at earlier ages, and were not terribly concerned about the consequences of a risky lifestyle since we weren't going to be around much longer anyway.

I see many parallels between cold war fear mongering and the current fear mongering surrounding global warming. In retrospect, I am convinced that media feeds these fears as a way of making sure it is relevant. But that's another story.

Saw a show on cable the other day about a NATO exercise in 1983 that had the Soviets on such high alert it came within a hair of launching its nuclear arsenal. It was characterized as a situation more grave than the Cuban Missile Crisis. Cooler heads prevailed, thank goodness.

Anyway, great column, great subject.

Patrick M. T.