Amerika

A quick reminder from history: you have to choose between advancement and equality, since the two are viewed as exclusionary:

Maher says the Apollo space program divided Americans among supporters who thought it would energize a country that had gotten lost, and those who believed that it represented a huge waste of money that instead should go to solving societal problems.

“One-fifth of the population lacks adequate food, clothing, shelter and medical care, [Rev. Abernathy] said. The money for the space program, he stated, should be spent to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, tend the sick, and house the shelterless.”

Western Civilization has just spent three centuries fighting over equality and how to best achieve it. We now have the most equal society ever, but it is not equal enough because someone is always starving, dying, suffering, or otherwise not winning at the game of life.

A choice lies before us. We either move upward through qualitative improvements and development of new technologies, or stay here in the mire, fighting inequality in a battle we will never win. There is no way to do both.

Tags: poverty, space exploration