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Photo Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it wasthe age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…."
These are the marvelous opening lines from “A Tale of TwoCities,” by Charles Dickens. And on the night of April 1, 2026, when President Trump started his address to the American people, the words immediately came to mind. It was the same night that the Artemis moon journey began.
If you’re a space exploration proponent, that night was,indeed, the best of times. And regardless of your position concerning the pros and cons of the space program, the Artemis launch did signal the start of our return to the moon, the human exploration of space. It’s a trek that generations of individuals before us would have wished they could have witnessed. So, despite the 50-year hiatus, we’re going back.
Now to the flip or Trump-side, the worst of times. We’veposted, over the past year, some of the Trump Administration’s acts. One of these is adding his name to the Kennedy Center. This has triggered lawsuits since this would actually require Congressional approval. But this is not unusual for Trump. He tagged his name on a new line of proposed battleships,potentially on US currency and his picture is on banners on different government buildings in Washington.
To some, renaming a building is a trivial event, given theother issues swirling in Trump’s orbit. We’re in the middle of a controversial war, the Administration is trying to end birthright citizenship and Affordable Care Act policy subsidies have been eliminated, resulting in over a million policyholders dropping their insurance. In light of this human carnage, does itmatter if the Kennedy Center has a new name?
I would argue yes for the same reasons that we care aboutthese other issues. We’re witnessing an assault on our culture and our history. And it’s not from an external force. It’s from within. It’s from the Administration and its legion of Senators, Representatives, political appointees and business leaders.
Finally, the President’s new ballroom and the renaming ofthe Kennedy Center share a common focal point—Congressional approval is needed for either change. And as a consequence, Judge Richard J. Leon issued a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the ballroom. And while I assume the Administration will be able to appeal this decision, it portends, for Trump, the possible path the court may take in respect to the Kennedy Center.