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Dreams and Disagreements
Jul. 6th, 2006 07:13 pmI've been sitting here for a few minutes after the fact debating whether to say something about what just happened to me or not... And I've decided that dammit, I'm gonna vent.
My first clear memories as a child were of the first moon landing. I was 4 years old, sitting in my parents living room as the Apollo 11 lander 'Eagle' landed on the moon. Over my entire life I've dreamed of space, and dreamed of mankind taking its place in the stars, whether it was the pie-in-the-sky vision of Roddenberry's 'Star Trek', or whether it was far more mundane with sublight drives and the 'long view' of interstellar space. I've always been facinated with the advances we've gained from space exploration, from the technologies of the rockets themselves to the raw knowledge that theres more out there to see.
So it hurts a lot when I have a friend kick me in the face and effectively call me stupid for wanting mankind to go into space. People in space, not just rockets and robots.
I mentioned this: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060705_blue_origin.html because I found it to be wonderful news- the DC-X is coming back! This was met with snide remarks like 'Why not just sit them on trillions of dollars and put a blowtorch on them- it'd be quicker'.
Regardless of my ability to instantaneously recall exactly what benefits space exploration has brought (there are a lot- my memory sucks however), Nobody should be forced into a corner to defend a belief that is a personal belief- I am NOT an idiot. I am well aware of the risks of spaceflight. So are the millions and millions of others who share my dreams. And especially so are those who have the wherewithal and courage to actually GO to space.
There are a myriad of reasons for mankind to go to space, both known and unknown. Will people die? Yes. Is this a reason to stop? No. Magellan, for example, never made it home from his explorations, but he changed the world. Someone has to do it, take the first step, pay the price and see what's there.
Are there problems with the way things are right now with the US space program? Of course. NASA has been mismanaged, underfunded and ruled by beancounters and media-mavens for years. This needs to change, and soon. But we still need to be out there.
I'm not able to give the best arguments right now. I'm hungry, hurt and frankly pissed off. Friends don't browbeat friends just because of a point of disagreement. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me. I can accept that. But I can't accept a situation in which I discuss something I believe in with all my heart where a friend then starts sarcastically attacking my beliefs, simply because he believes those beliefs to be foolish.
I'll flat out state you're uninformed. You've not spent the last 37 years following the subject. You've not done the research. You simply have decided its a 'bad idea' and rant at me. If you don't agree, fine. But don't fucking rip me apart! You have NO right!
My first clear memories as a child were of the first moon landing. I was 4 years old, sitting in my parents living room as the Apollo 11 lander 'Eagle' landed on the moon. Over my entire life I've dreamed of space, and dreamed of mankind taking its place in the stars, whether it was the pie-in-the-sky vision of Roddenberry's 'Star Trek', or whether it was far more mundane with sublight drives and the 'long view' of interstellar space. I've always been facinated with the advances we've gained from space exploration, from the technologies of the rockets themselves to the raw knowledge that theres more out there to see.
So it hurts a lot when I have a friend kick me in the face and effectively call me stupid for wanting mankind to go into space. People in space, not just rockets and robots.
I mentioned this: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060705_blue_origin.html because I found it to be wonderful news- the DC-X is coming back! This was met with snide remarks like 'Why not just sit them on trillions of dollars and put a blowtorch on them- it'd be quicker'.
Regardless of my ability to instantaneously recall exactly what benefits space exploration has brought (there are a lot- my memory sucks however), Nobody should be forced into a corner to defend a belief that is a personal belief- I am NOT an idiot. I am well aware of the risks of spaceflight. So are the millions and millions of others who share my dreams. And especially so are those who have the wherewithal and courage to actually GO to space.
There are a myriad of reasons for mankind to go to space, both known and unknown. Will people die? Yes. Is this a reason to stop? No. Magellan, for example, never made it home from his explorations, but he changed the world. Someone has to do it, take the first step, pay the price and see what's there.
Are there problems with the way things are right now with the US space program? Of course. NASA has been mismanaged, underfunded and ruled by beancounters and media-mavens for years. This needs to change, and soon. But we still need to be out there.
I'm not able to give the best arguments right now. I'm hungry, hurt and frankly pissed off. Friends don't browbeat friends just because of a point of disagreement. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me. I can accept that. But I can't accept a situation in which I discuss something I believe in with all my heart where a friend then starts sarcastically attacking my beliefs, simply because he believes those beliefs to be foolish.
I'll flat out state you're uninformed. You've not spent the last 37 years following the subject. You've not done the research. You simply have decided its a 'bad idea' and rant at me. If you don't agree, fine. But don't fucking rip me apart! You have NO right!
