Was It Really an American Leap?

It was said about President Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem on November 19, 1977, that the moment the plane landed there, the world was reminded, one way or another, of the moment that American Neil Armstrong landed on the moon on July 20, 1969.

That day Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man, and a giant leap for mankind.” Just as much as the Americans impressed the whole world at the moment of Armstrong’s leap, many Arabs held their breath when they saw Sadat land his plane in occupied Jerusalem — more precisely, in Israel!

In both cases, as the days and years rolled on, the fascination remained. In the case of Sadat, fascination may have increased, and perhaps fallen in the case of Armstrong, or vice versa; in any case, the fascination existed until Sadat died in 1981, thus leaving the fascination to the American leap. A few months ago, we found ourselves departing from his jump and on a date with surprise!

An important surprise came from the lips of his brother, who was quoted in the publication Ahram last January 7 saying that Armstrong did not jump on the moon as we have imagined for over half a century. Don’t be upset. The jump on the ground was photographed as though it was over the moon for the world to believe it. In the words of his brother, this show was to deter the Soviet Union psychologically — at the time the Cold War was raging between it and the United States of America!

Of course, there is hardly anyone who reads about Armstrong’s jump and believes that they could do that themselves. Probably many of those who read news like that have rubbed their eyes, re-read it, and then maybe they make sure that they actually read the correct words, and are not dreamers!

What casts a shadow of truth on the news is that former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was quoted by some newspapers as saying things like Armstrong’s leap was in the Nevada desert, not on the moon, and that the world was living in their imagination. The odd thing is that no one stopped Rumsfeld’s speech from permeating the world, nor prohibited Armstrong’s brother in his time. Although if it were true, in both cases, we — the public — are found facing a wondrous and unique trick. It’s not a ploy on one person, a small or large group; rather, we are in front of a huge trick on the whole world! Each issue is worthy of contemplation and worthy of review; we must confront them wisely, so we may carry out the true meaning — this is the most important thing!

Speaking abstractly as though it is objective (even though facts are excluded) is entirely consistent with the American way of thinking. The logical, pragmatic and practical American deals with any matter depending on what it will lead to (the result of the process), not according to whether it is fact or fiction (this is the last thing, it is not important!). If you reviewed a number of recent American positions and then carefully analyzed them, it would be clear to you, in most cases, that each position hardly involves real substance. The image displayed to the world is all that matters, especially if this position deals with the United States’ relationship with the outside world, and has nothing to do with U.S. internal affairs.

Anyone who has observed what is happening now, and in past years, between the United States and Iran — for example — will see that “the Armstrong logic,” so to speak, is the same type that governs what is being said today as part of the U.S. administration’s stance toward the Iranian nuclear project. Otherwise, what does it mean when former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said frankly that her country refuses to put a time limit on negotiations with Iran about this nuclear project? Any analysis of Clinton’s remarks will not find a big difference between what she said and the claim that Armstrong jumped on the ground, and then said to the people that he jumped on the moon! Surprisingly, Egyptian folklore describes anything that is “multiplied” as true; we call it “American.” It seems that in Egypt, at the grassroots level, we had already read about the American mentality before it was translated from the moon to Nevada. Before his American jump came, there was the popular Egyptian force, apparently!