Our Nation: Culture and Change (1 of 2)

(Cross-listed at www.opennasa.com)

Culture.

What does that word do for you? I hear it thrown around a lot when talking about change. And change, unless maybe you’ve been living in a Thai jungle for the last 2 years or so, seems to at least be a hot topic on many people’s minds lately.

(No offense intended if you have in fact been living in a Thai jungle and feel this image unfitting.)

How important is culture to a country’s ability to change? Is change an inherent characteristic of our nation’s culture?

President-elect Obama, in his acceptance speech on election night, said, “For that is the true genius of America- that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”

I bring this up first as a topic on a national level because I think it’s important to understand change in the context of our nation’s character, regardless of political stance, before getting down to how NASA fits in.

(Feel free to comment on NASA culture here if you want, but part 2 will be “Our NASA: Culture and Change”.)