Boldly Go

I really have to agree with the following statement that we have really poor priorities as nations and as a species:

"On the eve of the Apollo 11 launch in July 1969, two dominating images of America collided at Cape Kennedy. The first was the huge Saturn V rocket, which symbolized America's wealth, dynamism and sense of adventure. In the shadow of that rocket stood another starkly contrasting image - a donkey-cart brought by the civil-rights leader Ralph Abernathy to remind Americans of the choices they had made." You can read the whole article here.

When I was younger I dreamed of nothing but space. I was addicted to Star Trek and read book upon book of utopian science fiction. It's amazing how things can change when you become aware that the ideal society of the Federation is light years away from our present experience on Earth.

As this articles claims, shouldn't we get our own house in order before escaping to the darkness of space? Why give up on earth, our only home, so easily? Humans have the right to dream of space. But to misspend our shrinking resources on adventures seems foolish.

This attitude reminds me of an indebted person who, blind to their own situation and desirous of the many trinkets the world has to offer, continues to "live" off credit until his or her life is destroyed. In capitalism you have the out of bankruptcy and payment consolidation; the universe offers no similar out. Do we have to go to Mars and leave behind a rotten Earth to learn this lesson?