If you’ve never seen the movie “The Right Stuff,” I encourage you to do so. It’s a wonderful film, not least because West Virginian Chuck Yeager plays a leading, if misunderstood, role in both the story and the film.
But while you’re watching, take note of one of the most significant aspects of the story. It’s about America’s first corps of astronauts.
All seven were men.
It wasn’t until recently, via the book and film “Hidden Figures,” that women got any public credit for roles in the early space program. That one, too, centered on a West Virginian, Katherine Johnson.
In 1961, as our space program was getting off the ground, there was just one woman in the U.S. Senate (Maurine Newberger, D-Ore.). The House of Representatives had only 16 women (one, Democrat Elizabeth Kee, from the Mountain State).
Had you been a little girl in 1961, you — and your parents — probably would not have taken seriously any suggestion that you, too, could reach for the stars. Why would you?
Last week, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., took an astronaut with her in visits to several Mountain State schools. Two, Madison School in Wheeling and New Martinsville School, are in our area.
The astronaut’s name is Peggy Whitson. As we related in a story about her visit, she has flown three missions and spent a 665 days literally looking down on us.
Whitson’s visits were part of the senator’s “West Virginia Girls Rise Up” campaign. It is intended to remind youngsters here that gender no longer is a barrier to pursuing their dreams. It also is meant to ensure they understand the importance of education in doing so.
Things have changed greatly since 1961. Now, there are 23 women in the U.S. Senate. The House of Representatives has another 84 women. And need I note, the candidate who received the most popular votes in the 2016 presidential election was a woman?
Women run major corporations, are powerful politicians, get their pictures on the Wheaties box and, in any number of other ways, no longer are viewed as the weaker sex.
Are there still glass ceilings through which females have trouble punching? Absolutely. And let’s be honest: Sometimes, they have to punch harder than men.
We still have a ways to go.
But bless Capito who, in case you’re wondering, is not up for re-election this year, for her “Rise Up” campaign. It seems to be a project near and dear to her heart — something good she can do with her power as a senator, not to perpetuate or increase it. I have no doubt she could garner more votes and more campaign contributions by spending her time differently.
What she’s doing is important. She and other achievers like Whitson are encouraging little girls to ignore the people who tell them there are limits to what they can do. They are urging them to do what it takes, such as working hard in science classes if you want to be an astronaut, to realize their goals.
They’re letting girls know that dreams no longer are thing that have to be let go of as they grow older.
That’s important.
For boys, too.