This morning I went to the NPR's Columbia discussion site and got mad at the kvetching about politics on the discussion board. Somebody pulled the politically-correct rabbit out of her hat concerning Mr. Bush's quotation of Isaiah when Mission Specialist Chawla was Indian and presumably not Christian or Jewish. The usual fistfight ensued, culminating in remarks about the poet peace activists at the White House. Barf.

So I came here. And what do I find? Discussion of welfare, in a similar tone to the discussion of religion and poetry found at NPR. Barf again.

I understand you're mad. Save it for after the funerals. You are not the only people who are upset.

Let me put it plainly:

To take money away from one program will not guarantee it will go to a program you like better.

If you want a program to be better funded, as this is a democracy, you must build public support for it. In order to do that, the public must have reasons to support it.

Space exploration has suffered from a couple of public relations problems.

One has to do with the lack of scientific literacy in the US. That's an education problem. Until people understand the science behind space exploration and behind the experiments being performed in space, they won't be able to assess the value. If they can't assess the value, the value assigned is zero.

The other is a lack of splash. That's a public relations problem. Many people find space exploration boring, because (unless you understand -- see previous paragraph) it all looks the same. People don't see the progress. The fact that space advocates haven't got a lot of high-profile dynamic public figures is a related problem.

Until our elected representatives get a clear indication that a majority of their constituents want increased space exploration, you could take everyone on welfare out back and shoot them to reduce the roles to zero, and still there would be no money for space.

If positive change is wanted, positive actions and positive words are necessary. Negative attacks will bring people down and divide people, which may mean you "win", but not that you will get what you want.

It does nothing to honor the dead.

Regards--
Mary Anne