{"id":34992,"date":"2012-01-06T07:00:29","date_gmt":"2012-01-06T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=34992"},"modified":"2012-01-09T09:15:40","modified_gmt":"2012-01-09T16:15:40","slug":"for-new-mexico-the-possibilities-are-endless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/01\/for-new-mexico-the-possibilities-are-endless\/","title":{"rendered":"For New Mexico, the possibilities are endless"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Heath<\/a>

Heath Haussamen<\/p><\/div>\n

We have so many problems in New Mexico, but we also have so much potential. Here\u2019s to hoping that, during our 200th year of statehood, we look back at the time when New Mexico was near the bottom of every positive list as a thing of the past.<\/h4>\n

I traveled much of New Mexico in the last two weeks to visit family, making the trek up to Bloomfield and Farmington before heading into Colorado. In the last two days, I\u2019ve traveled all the way through New Mexico from Raton in the north to Las Cruces in the south.<\/p>\n

The trip reminded me of our state\u2019s diversity and beauty. On the day that we celebrate 100 years of statehood, I thought it was important to pause and reflect.<\/p>\n

I spend a lot of time criticizing government in New Mexico. There\u2019s lots to criticize; we remain near the bottom of most positive lists, not because we don\u2019t have the ability to do better, but because we don\u2019t choose to do better.<\/p>\n

And yet, there\u2019s a reason I remain in the state in which I grew up: I love New Mexico.<\/p>\n

We have stunning beauty. We have true racial diversity. We are blessed with so many resources. We are blessed with so much potential.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that Microsoft was born here<\/a>. Big dreams are common in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s important to remember that Microsoft left for Washington State before it became the software giant that changed the world. There\u2019s something buried deep in New Mexico\u2019s psyche that let Microsoft go. It\u2019s the same something that leaves us at the bottom of so many positive lists. We know how to dream big, but we often don\u2019t follow through.<\/p>\n

We have the potential for so much more.<\/p>\n

From a bomb test site to a launch pad for spaceflights<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

As I traveled through New Mexico recently, I thought about its potential. I passed the roads that lead to Spaceport America<\/a>. I drove through massive, windy plains in the northeast that are a potential source of energy. I passed the oil and gas infrastructure in San Juan County that\u2019s part of an industry that powers state government.<\/p>\n

I was in awe of the undisturbed beauty between San Ysidro and Cuba, between Las Vegas and Pecos, and elsewhere. I thought about our racial and religious diversity. I thought about our connection to the land.<\/p>\n

I got glimpses of our future as I drove alongside the Rail Runner\u2019s<\/a> tracks south of Santa Fe, as I passed through our state\u2019s urban center, and as I glanced off toward the spaceport behind our southern reservoirs.<\/p>\n

Of course, the latter also reminded me of our scarcity of water and the problems that lie ahead. And, as I passed the spaceport, I thought about the lack of vision that let another state snag Microsoft and all the jobs and economic impact it has created.<\/p>\n

We have so many problems in New Mexico. But we also have so much potential. Here\u2019s how the Las Cruces Sun-News summed it up<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn its earlier days, New Mexico was desolate enough to be deemed a good place to test an atomic bomb. Today, New Mexico is a site of a spaceport nearly ready to send civilian passengers on sub-orbital flights.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don\u2019t know whether Spaceport America will be successful, but I know that, sometime in the near future, some region is going to do what it takes to become the center of the commercial space industry \u2013 an important one in the 21st Century for its economic potential but also because of how it could move humanity forward.<\/p>\n

New Mexico has a serious shot at being the center of that industry.<\/p>\n

During our 200th year of statehood\u2026<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the difference this time is that, 100 years into statehood, New Mexico is taking that shot. We\u2019ve followed through on the vision of becoming the center of the commercial space industry. We just might succeed at doing it.<\/p>\n

We need to apply that same vision, drive, and follow-through to so many other areas, including additional economic development possibilities, education reform, combatting poverty and protecting our children.<\/p>\n

We have the resources to do it all, if we put our minds to it. Here\u2019s to hoping that, during our 200th year of statehood, we look back at the time when New Mexico was near the bottom of every positive list as a thing of the past, as something we study in history books.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly possible.<\/p>\n

Haussamen bio<\/a>\u00a0\u2502\u00a0Commentary page<\/a>\u00a0\u2502\u00a0Feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have so many problems in New Mexico, but we also have so much potential. Here\u2019s to hoping that, during our 200th year of statehood, we look back at the time when New Mexico was near the bottom of every positive list as a thing of the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,10],"tags":[107],"class_list":["post-34992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-haussamen-columns","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34992\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}