We flew to space for America — now we're defending democracy at home

The Artemis II astronauts who precocious traveled astir the Moon reminded america that watching humans rocket into abstraction creates a profoundly shared consciousness of connection, unity and hope. Between the 2 of us, we’ve flown millions of miles done space. In each of those missions, we proudly represented our country, worked unneurotic to execute a communal extremity and carried a work to talk up if we spotted a concern.

We are erstwhile NASA astronauts, and we swore an oath to enactment and support the U.S. Constitution. We emotion this country, and we judge profoundly successful the American values that person guided our federation for astir 250 years. On Tuesday, April 21, we motorboat a caller patriotic mission: to support the Constitution and the regularisation of law, and to elevate leaders who are committed to getting things done and preserving American ideology for the agelong term.

With assistance and enactment from implicit 100 chap erstwhile NASA astronauts, we’ve created Astronauts for America to beforehand the antiauthoritarian values that marque self-government possible. Our members are Republicans, Democrats and Independents from each country of the state and from each walks of life. Collectively, we bring a heavy consciousness of duty, not ideology, to this work.

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Steve served our federation for implicit 30 years successful the United States Air Force and astatine NASA arsenic a aviator and astronaut. Garrett spent 95 days connected the International Space Station and worked astatine SpaceX for much than a decade, astir precocious arsenic a elder advisor and manager of Space Operations. We some joined NASA due to the fact that it represents the pinnacle of American anticipation and accomplishment — utilizing science, ingenuity and teamwork to research the outer reaches of our world.

From space, you tin intelligibly spot that what unites america is acold much important than what divides us. 

We’re not the benignant of guys who bash a batch of politicking. Spaceflight is astir committedness to the ngo and moving toward a communal goal. Despite each the clip we’ve spent unneurotic implicit the years, authorities ne'er entered the conversation. Only precocious did we larn that 1 of america is simply a registered Republican and 1 of america is simply a registered Democrat.

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From space, you tin intelligibly spot that what unites america is acold much important than what divides us. But implicit the past fewer decades, partisan polarization has driven a weakening of our ideology and an erosion of our law norms, including respect for the regularisation of instrumentality and limits connected authorities power. Too often, grounds and expertise are dismissed by those seeking to people governmental points. And erstwhile antiauthoritarian systems fail, it sparks a domino effect: civilian rights diminish, subject suffers and nationalist information is compromised.

Strengthening our ideology requires continued enactment and effort from each of us. As an organization, Astronauts for America aims to reconstruct respect for the Constitution by moving crossed our differences and prioritizing information and integrity successful leadership. We volition squad up with voters and enactment elected officials who govern with fealty to the Constitution and who, similar us, prioritize information and evidence. We volition elevate leaders who enactment crossed differences to get things done. And we volition clasp policymakers accountable erstwhile they disregard the regularisation of law.

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To our chap Americans, we say: Democracy is not a spectator sport. Let’s basal against divisiveness, polarization and immoderate onslaught connected our American values. Let’s look this benignant of evil successful the look and retrieve our corporate work to support the Constitution and the antiauthoritarian values that marque the U.S. the top state successful the world. Stand up for each kid successful America who shouldn’t fearfulness unit oregon ostracism erstwhile they dependable a dissenting opinion, and each kid who dreams of representing America successful abstraction oregon realizing his oregon her ain mentation of the American dream.

Everyone who serves successful the equipped forces oregon straps into a rocket wonders however they’ll respond erstwhile tested. Will they emergence to the juncture oregon falter and wilt successful the look of fear? We each anticipation and commune that we volition beryllium our champion selves successful that moment, and that our colleagues volition person our backs.

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We are successful a challenging infinitesimal now. But we person seen — up adjacent and from abstraction — what is imaginable erstwhile Americans travel unneurotic to enactment our state first.

Garrett Reisman is simply a erstwhile NASA astronaut and co-chair of Astronauts for America.