Honjii's Harangues

What good is Mars?

So we sent yet another really expensive car to Mars.  Don’t get me wrong, I love anything having to do with space; I find it exciting.  But I’m thinking, WHY, to what end?

Hopefully the rover will send back information I want to know.  But seriously, what good will it really do for our f’d up society who for the most part still think the earth is six thousand years old and all life was magically placed here by an invisible guy in the sky and that we are the center of the universe?

If we discover that life can exist elsewhere in the universe (and why wouldn’t it) then what?  If we ever advance to a point where it’s possible to travel to distant planets on which life exists; we will likely take their lands and steal their resources by declaring war.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the christians will send missionaries to convert the new heathens, so what’s the point?

I see the cost for this endeavor, two and a half billion dollars, and I wonder how our government can spend that much to send a car to Mars when we can’t have decent health care for everyone or streets without homeless,  hungry people.  I think our collective priorities are out way of whack.  We simply cannot afford it at this time (but nobody bothered to ask me).  Sure it’s great, it’s groundbreaking, but so is that new 3D TV I’d like but won’t buy because I don’t have the money right now.  I suppose it’s the American way from the top on down to the little guy who  has to have the jet ski even though he’s in debt up to his eyeballs.

Related articles

• Life on Mars: Internet pranksters show how things could have been when Curiosity touched down (with a little help from Photoshop) (dailymail.co.uk)
• We Went to Mars Again, but the Only Surface Photos of Venus Are from 80s Soviet Rovers (motherboard.vice.com)
• Curiosity rover: why does sci-fi always look more marvellous than reality? | Jonathan Jones (guardian.co.uk)