Monday, February 16, 2004
CREDIBILITY VOID
Space... the last frontier... I can scarcely think of anything as important as spending billions of dollars on the exploration of the red planet... just imagine the thrill of discovering that life is sustainable there... actual life on another planet! No one expressed it more aptly than George W. Bush: "it improves our lives, and lifts our national spirit". There is no doubt that Americans need their spirits lifted, but wouldn't first taking care of life on planet Earth be the more logical, sensible approach? While we're not sure that there's water on Mars, we're certain that there is water on Earth. Perhaps the process of polluting Martian water can begin once the process has been completed terrestrially.
Of course, when Bush waxes on about improving "our" lives, he is not referring to humankind in general, but rather, to Americans, the reason being that the real heart of the matter lies in conquering the last frontier: the militarization of space is just part of the American legacy to inherit the universe.
Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the evildoers, in this case those that have degraded our earthly environment to its current abysmal state, have become aware of the consequences of global pollution and are now looking to colonize nearby nearly habitable realms. They have realized that the planet's future is stark, and now must pool all their dirty military-industrial money together to build a casino/hotel/resort on the moon, or maybe Mars. By that time, the building of a long-range missile so powerful will allow the chosen few space colonists to obliterate what's left of the toxic sphere, because, let's face it, every last country on Earth except one was no damn good. With any luck, the whole plan will backfire when the missile ricochets off their own defense shield and heads back to where it came from.
Science fiction, or just unknown unknowns? Admittedly, sticking to unknown knowns is better, like how do we fix the problem of a river running red right in our own backyard, or what is the best way to dispose of toxic waste besides burying tons of it in the middle of a small town?
So back to the original question: is there life on Mars?
Who cares.
Space... the last frontier... I can scarcely think of anything as important as spending billions of dollars on the exploration of the red planet... just imagine the thrill of discovering that life is sustainable there... actual life on another planet! No one expressed it more aptly than George W. Bush: "it improves our lives, and lifts our national spirit". There is no doubt that Americans need their spirits lifted, but wouldn't first taking care of life on planet Earth be the more logical, sensible approach? While we're not sure that there's water on Mars, we're certain that there is water on Earth. Perhaps the process of polluting Martian water can begin once the process has been completed terrestrially.
Of course, when Bush waxes on about improving "our" lives, he is not referring to humankind in general, but rather, to Americans, the reason being that the real heart of the matter lies in conquering the last frontier: the militarization of space is just part of the American legacy to inherit the universe.
Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the evildoers, in this case those that have degraded our earthly environment to its current abysmal state, have become aware of the consequences of global pollution and are now looking to colonize nearby nearly habitable realms. They have realized that the planet's future is stark, and now must pool all their dirty military-industrial money together to build a casino/hotel/resort on the moon, or maybe Mars. By that time, the building of a long-range missile so powerful will allow the chosen few space colonists to obliterate what's left of the toxic sphere, because, let's face it, every last country on Earth except one was no damn good. With any luck, the whole plan will backfire when the missile ricochets off their own defense shield and heads back to where it came from.
Science fiction, or just unknown unknowns? Admittedly, sticking to unknown knowns is better, like how do we fix the problem of a river running red right in our own backyard, or what is the best way to dispose of toxic waste besides burying tons of it in the middle of a small town?
So back to the original question: is there life on Mars?
Who cares.
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