Outer space is a different kind of a frontier than the American West. It's more about learning than expansionism in the foreseeable future.

YouTube has a lot of videos from the History Channel.

Last night, I watched part of one about the westward expansion of America. Ever since I can remember, I've thought that one of America's biggest problems is loss of the frontier. By mid 20th Century, our expansionist culture had pretty well run up against environmental constraints.

Outer space is a different kind of a frontier. It's more of a technical and learning frontier. Not one where millions of will head out west in covered wagons. It's not the same as the Oregon Trail or the California Gold Rush.

It's more of a spectator experience for average people, except for the relatively few scientists on teams, such as the folks working with the Mars Rovers. For the rest of us, it can be a great learning experience and the technology is useful, back here on earth.

Last night, I turned off the frontier show about halfway through fearing it would give me nightmares. The brutality of life on the frontier was depicted graphically. A woman screaming while giving birth in a wagon train. A man in pain as they were sewing up wounds from a grizzly bear attack. He did survive, but about then I turned it off fearing the night ahead.

Interesting that the video did drop in a segment with Donald Trump talking about the American spirit of perseverance. While Trump didn't have the physically hard life of the frontier, there is something about his style that has resonated with that spirit.

Today we continue needing to redefine culture somehow. We've made it to the west coast long ago.