@slashdot

Why go to Mars?
≠=============

I have some philosophical questions, about the Mars missions, that I invite your thoughts on. I am a sci-fi fan and watch, read and write sci-fi myself. However, lately I have been wondering along the following lines:

Why are we funding Space missions with public money, when there is an underclass of people who are homeless, and hungry, and don't have their basic needs met? These people are marginalized, and too broken to cross the systemic hurdles that prevent them from voting. They are invisible to both, the leaders/politicians, and the bourgeoisie, who are kept entertained by bread and circuses ( Domino's & NFL ), too distracted to notice the stinky bum shivering on the sidewalk, who hasn't eaten a decent meal in days. We look away from the poor, thinking that they are suffering their own karma. Or maybe they are ne'er do wells, who should have studied and worked as hard as us?

They are actually co-equal to us. While government pays for Mars missions, with Public Funds ( let's get real and start calling it Public Funds, instead of "taxpayer money", which is misleading ), these people suffer. If they had any control over public money, they would shout, "GIMME EAT!", and not "let's send people to the Moon, or Mars, while I starve".

We have what Einstein called "a perfection of means, and a confusion of aims".

I would love to see human beings travel to Mars, and beyond. Yet, if we don't address our problems here, on Spaceship Earth 🌎, we will get to Mars, and recreate the same mess, and end up trashing the planet, and wanting to move to the next planet.

While going to Mars is a good idea, it should not be a priority for humanity, while we have poverty and war, and while Earth is being deforested and polluted.

With that in mind, please give me your thoughts.

#Earth
#Mars #Space #Artemis #Moon
#government #GovernmentSpending
#EqualRights #Justice
#Democracy #homeless #homelessness #poverty
#SciFi #ScienceFiction
#SpaceTravel #QuestionForGroup

$SpaceX
#BlueOrigin
#ThePlanetarySociety

I know artists who use spray paints, and stencils to create pictures that look just like the fancy pictures NASA shows us. And they charge $20, not $20 Billion. Just as relevant to the hungry and homeless as the NASA pictures.

#ThePlanetarySociety is a fraud. Why are you so interested in far off things, as you step on the people on the street, like they're NPCs, subhumans. Those people are kept from voting by systemic hurdles. If they could vote, they'd vote for food & housing. Not space shit!

@sundogplanets

The Planetary Society does stuff like this, and they say it absolutely does help.

When people write in en masse, there is an influence.

#astronomy
#ThePlanetarySociety
#satellites