America is living through a moment difficult to describe without sounding a little unhinged.

But here goes: We are watching the United States do things that only the United States can do.

In the span of a few days, Americans have watched astronauts push farther into space than any human beings in history, while U.S. forces execute military operations so precise and technologically overwhelming that they look like something written for a Hollywood script. Pilots are being rescued in missions that resemble "Mission: Impossible." Terrorists are being eliminated with the kind of targeted strikes that only a modern superpower can carry out.

And somehow, this has become so normal that we barely stop to appreciate it.

On Monday, Artemis II made history.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft traveled more than 248,655 miles from Earth — farther than any human beings have ever gone.

It is worth repeating: farther than any human beings have ever gone.

Not in science fiction. Not in a theoretical model. In real life. In real time. With Americans at the controls.

President Donald Trump called the crew to congratulate them, and what followed was a reminder of how far beyond our daily politics the American project really reaches.

"Tell me, what is the most unforgettable part of this really historic day?" the president asked. "The whole world is watching and listening. Please tell me."

Commander Reid Wiseman responded with the kind of awe you would expect from someone looking at the universe from a vantage point no human being has ever had before. He spoke of seeing the moon from a new perspective, of witnessing sights "no human has ever seen before," even during Apollo. He described an eclipse — the sun, the moon, darkness outside the window, the corona visible — and even the "planet train" lining up in the........

© Townhall