space.

one of my CA church friends and i stumbled across the topic of space a couple years ago -- to find that he was vehemently fascinated by our exploration of it, and that i am cynically opposed to it. he couldn't fathom why i would be against space. it took me a bit of explaining. and it's here that i'll do the same...

i love this man -- Buzz Aldrin. i did a report on him in 4th grade. i think my inklings even back then were on target regarding his humility. i love that neil armstrong has always been the 'one in the spotlight', and Buzz is the much less-mentioned/less-profiled second man on the moon. let me be clear that i appreciate the achievement of the first-team-on-the-moon.

but i outrightly disagree with our investment in space travel and space exploration, for this simple reason: for all of our investment, monetary and otherwise, what has it gotten us? and i don't mean things like "it has expanded our horizons" or "it provides the satellites that make our GPS work" (because frankly, i think our world we be more personable without cellphones, and there would be less idiot drivers without GPS). i mean practically and in quality-of-life terms -- how has our MUTLI-TRILLION DOLLAR space investment made life better for all americans? because i don't see it. i don't understand what our fascination is. we're never going to colonize mars -- we're just not. and no sub-billionaire citizen is ever going to get to travel into space. so why do we continue this investment? why, when so many are suffering and scrounging just to keep their house? or to put food on their table? or, to obtain simple, adequate medical care? especially in this current time where military spending is still at RIDICULOUS LEVELS, and when the government is trying to figure out a way to push forward universal healthcare.

i think that the government can, and should be made responsible in it's spending and allocating. and we need to be the ones to do that. and it takes our efforts to ponder what is true and right and necessary -- and then it requires our voices and more importantly our ACTIONS to back up what we believe.