Al Bundy said his ideal woman would have three breasts -one on the back for slow dancing.
We can't Make everyone have a job and a roof over their head, etc. There are certain things that people simply have to do for themselves.
The people of North Korea are subsisting on acorns, moss, and grass. We can't feed them because we can't get their insane leader out of the way. If the people would rise up en masse, they could solve their problem in a day. Then we could help them.
We can't give the people of Iran civil rights because of a pathetic troop of power-mad religious leaders are in the way. I'd like to think the people are about to rectify that situation, but somehow I expect this batch of psychotic mullahs would just be replaced with a new batch.
We can't stand guard in perpetuity over every tribal area in Asia and Africa to keep the warlords from creeping back in and opressing folks. People have to do those things for themselves. We can help, but only if those directly affected show the initiative.
I was four when Buzz and Neal walked on the moon. I remember it clearly. I have the front page of our local paper from that day framed in my living room. Few words get my attention faster than the word NASA. Manned space exploration can do something for all of us that machines simply can't.
Someone earlier made the point that a multi-national effort carries more weight than a "space race". There's something to that. I don't care how we go, as long as we go boldly and for a purpose. I don't care if a government or governments are behind the flight, or if it's a private concern.
We can't risk lives and billions of dollars to spend two years sending some folks to Mars to hit a golfball. But if our probes can pinpoint life or an intense promise thereof, we have to go, even if we have to walk there.
