Folks, I sat with some twenty people last night at the home of a good friend and watched the astonishing revival of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”.
Many months ago I’d mentioned to Neil DeGrasse Tyson that I thought it would be a proper gesture to recognize Carl's wonderful contributions to reason and truth in some appropriate way, but Dr. Tyson met and exceeded my most ambitious expectations in that regard.
I sat there with tears in my eyes as his tribute to Carl was delivered, as I'm sure millions across the country did. Surely there can be now be no doubt that the New Cosmos will continue to reinforce the cause of science in very much the way that Carl did, that skepticism about the nonsense which meets us at every turn in the commercial world to which – in particular – young people are exposed, will be extolled and encouraged, has now been met, and a new battlefield is before us. This program burst upon us like a fireworks display never before seen. I was transfixed, transported, and shaken as Dr. Tyson and the Fox network took us on this wonderful adventure.
Seeing – at last – the tragedy of Giordano Bruno recounted properly and without fear of demands for censorship from religious zealots, I was more than pleased. Mind you, I expect heavy reaction from the “other side” of rationality, but I have great confidence in Dr. Tyson’s ability to look past that bickering to even greater things that the New Cosmos will achieve.
Wow…! I hope that you, too, were pleased with this tour de force and that you’ll join me in dropping a note to Fox network. The premiere was shown on all Fox affiliates, as well as National Geographic, and National Geographic WILD. With Ann Druyan – Carl’s widow – and Seth MacFarlane in charge, how can it lose…!