Opinion: As Musk lifts humanity, the left brands him ‘Public Enemy No. 2’

Did you hear about the amazing space history just made ? Two women traveled further from Earth than any woman ever had.

Elon Musk made that happen. Of course, the fact that he is behind that historic first is likely why you didn’t hear about it.

Democrats, the far left and most of the liberal media loved Elon Musk…until they didn’t. Once he bought Twitter, turned it into X, and made it clear that he was against much of the censorship they had been pushing and for the free speech they opposed, many on the left and in the media turned against him with a vengeance.

Almost overnight, Musk became “Public Enemy No. 2.” He will obviously never reach the number one position, since the left has carved former President Donald Trump’s name in granite for that title. But, as Musk also dared to endorse Trump for president, he has a lock on number two forever more.

The often-unhinged hostility directed at Musk by some on the left is disturbing. Again, just a few years ago, the left seemingly wanted to erect statutes to Musk as they sang his praises and those of his companies Tesla and SpaceX. Now, aside from hurling ugly pejoratives at him, many on the left also want to cancel SpaceX, Tesla, the hated X and even arrest Musk .

Two years ago, I put out a book titled “The 56: Liberty Lessons From Those Who Risked All to Sign the Declaration of Independence.” The sole purpose of the book was to protect our Founding Fathers from threats of cancellation from some on the left.

While discussing the book at the time, I often equated Elon Musk with our Founding Fathers. Why? Because back in 1776, the vast majority of the wealthy American colonists sided with the tyrannical British Crown. They did not want to rock the boat. They did not want to risk their wealth and privilege. They were happy to be the “useful idiots” of the time for those robbing them of their own rights and freedoms.

On the other side were our Founding Fathers, most especially those who literally put their lives on the line to sign the Declaration of Independence. Many were the equivalent of billionaires of today. They could have kept silent, like most of the wealthy, and gone along with the Crown. But they did not.

Each looked himself in the mirror and asked the two most important questions of their lives: “If not me, who? If not now, when?” And because they did, the United States of America was created.

Like those “billionaires” of 1776, Musk could have kept going along to get along. As the wealthiest human on the planet, he needed for nothing and had every luxury at his disposal. But then, like our Founding Fathers, at some point, Musk — as well as Trump and RFK Jr. — also asked himself those two questions as he witnessed the rise of cancel culture and the elimination of free speech.

What is amazing about Musk (whom I have never met or spoken with) is that he has so many different interests and is blazing life-changing trails with all of them. As he fights to protect free speech, he is also desperately trying to figure out a way to move humans off the planet in a permanent way — to save humanity.

To that very quest, after NASA recently announced it was tracking a potential earth-killing asteroid, Musk posted on X: “One of these days, a large comet will hit Earth and destroy almost all life, as has happened many times in the past…Either become a spacefaring civilization or die”

Part of that drive was on spectacular display recently as SpaceX launched a four-person civilian crew on a trailblazing mission into Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts. It can’t be stressed enough how jaw-dropping and incredible that mission was.

Back in the day, I authored a book about the 12 men who walked on the moon; I worked space issues for the Pentagon; and I worked as a consultant to NASA and the Space Shuttle team. Because of that background, I have followed the adventures of SpaceX since day one. I know that what Musk, SpaceX and the courageous four-person crew just accomplished is deeply significant to Musk’s ultimate goal of getting humanity to Mars and beyond.

This latest SpaceX launch — dubbed “Polaris Dawn” — set a number of firsts. It was the first all-private-citizen space launch; the first commercial spacewalk; the first “all civilian” spacewalk; and, again, it marked the farthest any woman has ever flown in space. Beyond that, it was the farthest humanity has flown from the Earth in more than 50 years.

Elon Musk and his once-in-a-century mind is behind all that.

While NASA continues to destroy itself from within with its focus on DEI programs, identity politics and climate change before all, Musk has taken the lead in space. The left can — and will — hate on him all they want because of his fight against their censorship, for free speech and because he dared to endorse the reviled Trump. But decades and even centuries from now, I believe history will record Musk as the driving force who permanently lifted humanity into the promise and protection of space.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official.

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