Staff Reports
Blue Origin’s latest spectacle in the West Texas desert was billed as a historic leap for women in space, but for many Americans watching, it looked more like a high-priced publicity stunt than a genuine achievement. The all-female crew—featuring pop star Katy Perry, TV host Gayle King, and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez—rocketed just past the edge of space for a total of 11 minutes. The media fawned over the event, but let’s be honest: this was less “giant leap for womankind” and more a joyride for the rich and famous.
While the mainstream press gushed about the “empowerment” and “trailblazing” nature of the flight, the reality is that this was a carefully orchestrated marketing event for Blue Origin’s space tourism business. The price tag for a ticket remains out of reach for ordinary Americans, with previous seats auctioned for millions. Meanwhile, the crew’s brief moment of weightlessness was filled with handstands, singing, and social media-ready theatrics. Katy Perry even kissed the ground upon landing, as if she’d just returned from a Mars mission, not a glorified amusement park ride.
Critics across the spectrum, including some Hollywood voices, rightly pointed out the absurdity of calling this a milestone for women’s progress. Real astronauts train for years, risk their lives, and contribute to science and national security. This flight, by contrast, was a photo op for celebrities and billionaires, with the rest of us left to foot the bill for the infrastructure and regulatory oversight that makes these stunts possible. It’s hard to see how this advances the cause of women in STEM or inspires the next generation, unless the lesson is that fame and fortune are the real tickets to the stars.
Meanwhile, the disconnect between elite spectacle and everyday reality was on full display elsewhere, as Bernie Sanders took the stage at Coachella to lecture a crowd that paid hundreds, if not thousands, for tickets. Sanders railed against billionaires and inequality, seemingly oblivious to the irony of preaching socialism at one of the most exclusive, corporate-sponsored events in America. The crowd’s lukewarm response said it all: most young people came for the music, not a political sermon from a career politician.
Both the Blue Origin launch and Sanders’ Coachella cameo highlight a growing divide in our culture. The left’s obsession with symbolism and celebrity activism does little to address the real challenges facing working families. Americans are hungry for substance, not stunts. If we want to inspire the next generation, let’s focus on real achievement, real opportunity, and real leadership—not Instagram moments and empty gestures from the privileged few.
