Of course Ryan doesn't want us exploring space. His party is one that, in their own words,
is extremely anti-science. He'd rather give tax cuts to billionaires and start a program that forces the majority of seniors into abject poverty than advance knowledge and science. This is the same party that has said "
critical thinking is bad", thinks
evolution is a myth, is trying to define pregnancy (and therefore, "life") beginning at
up to two weeks before conception and is largely convinced our ancestors
rode domesticated dinosaurs. The GOP in Missouri is now trying to pass a "Right to Pray" Amendment that would allow students to avoid any assignment
that interferes with his religious beliefs.
In many ways, our space program is a cure for this intellectual retardation that is being inflicted upon us. This is a program that has inspired entire generations of kids to take an active interest in science. It is what has inspired countless students to enthusiastically participate in science fairs, visit libraries and go to museums. Those of us who were awe-inspired by the space program as little kids became the ones looking through telescopes when our classmates were vegging in front of TVs. Speaking from personal experience, this didn't just open up space-related sciences to us but made all science available to us and sparked our interest in a wider-range of studies. I'd say we were also overwhelmingly the ones who completed projects on time if not ahead of time and were generally the best students in school.
As another poster stated, the space program has also boosted our technology. I also have a vested interest in seeing improvements to health technology but I completely understand how our space technology has
improved medical science. I also understand how this technology has helped
many societal ills as a whole, including in ways that help the environment. I'm almost a rabid environmentalist and for this reason, I want us to continue spending money on the programs and technology being thought out by NASA.
Realistically, what we spend on the space program is just a piddly drop in the bucket compared to our overall spending. It's also, overwhelmingly, something that consistently gives us the most useful and practical results, being applied in far more ways than just space exploration. I'd like to see us cut military spending, especially on never-ending wars and finding new enemies to warrant more wars and more military spending and use that funding toward everything from the space program to public education, improving healthcare, personal health and finding more ways to improve the environment and environmental sustainability.
