U.S. Space Force, Space Travel, Space Colonization and All That Other Horsepucky

Don’t get me wrong, I am one of the greatest science fiction fans you will ever find. As a kid, I devoured every science fiction book and magazine in print and while I don’t have a lot of time for it, I still love a good science fiction story. So why am I calling these space programs horsepucky? For the simple reason, that’s what they are – but worse than that, they are a distraction from the real problems we face today and they are an extravagance that serves only the rich and robs the rest of us of direly needed resources to rebuild our infrastructure, improve our education system, provide healthcare for everyone, provide shelter for the homeless, protect our environment, stave off global warming and all the other needs we have as a society.

No one benefits from a U.S. Space Force except the already bloated military-industrial complex. There is no threat from outer space and there is no military threat to our national security from any country over land, sea, air or space. So why the hell are we even thinking about it? If you think that we already overspend on useless military hardware, think about weaponizing space. There is no limit to how much we can squander on space weapons. Given that our government spends nearly $1 trillion to feed a bloated military/national security empire and that our government is borrowing nearly $1 trillion to meet its expenses, adding a Space Force to our military amounts to total fiscal and moral irresponsibility.

As for space travel, à la Virgin Galaxy, the only beneficiaries of that boondoggle are a few very rich people who can afford a quarter million dollars for a joy ride in space, plus the owners, builders and operators of this otherwise useless piece of space junk together with their suppliers.

Finally, as for space colonization, neither the moon nor Mars have the natural resources necessary to support human life without earth support. Given the fragility of our own environment and the threats posed to it by human activity and overpopulation, it is more likely that we are going to have to dedicate all our resources to saving our earth (and our own derrières) – and if we fail to do that, any space colony will go down the tubes with the rest of us.

On top of everything, just think what these programs will do to our environment.

As I said at the beginning, don’t get me wrong. Humans may someday venture successfully into space, but we are nowhere near ready. The timing for this venture could not be worse. There are far greater needs that must immediately be met right here on earth if we are to survive as a species.