I’m sorry but things are definitely better than they were in the 2000’s. Even this war is smaller scale than Iraq/Afghanistan, and seems like it will be over much quicker. Even the economy isn’t nearly as bad.
But the Mars missions, the ISS, and all the rest was not indecent. You were not wrong to enjoy those things back then. And you wouldn’t be wrong to enjoy this now.
It’s perfectly healthy to accept that the world is not perfect AND to still enjoy things in life. If you feel otherwise I highly encourage you to change. Those who improve the world do not feel defeated.
The condescension is uncalled for, this is simply a difference of priorities. In terms of our various ecological crises, the situation is absolutely not better than 20 years ago. My view is that the opportunity cost of manned space exploration is now unjustifiable. The resources consumed would be better allocated elsewhere.
> In terms of our various ecological crises, the situation is absolutely not better than 20 years ago.
The situation is objectively better, renewables are now seen as not only a viable alternative but a superior financial alternative as well. It’s literally cheaper to go green than to build more fossil fuels. That’s why 92% of new capacity is renewables… globally!
The trends are much more encouraging than they were when Al Gore released an Inconvenient Truth. Instead of renewables and EVs being seen as jokes, they’re almost universally seen as the path forward.
We spend literal trillions on renewables, we spend less on war, billion of people are in a better financial situation… I just don’t see much that would preclude spending a few billion on this type of mission every few years.
On top of the science and spending on highly technical jobs, technology and experience like this is not useless, and building on it will reap rewards that you cannot even imagine yet.
But the Mars missions, the ISS, and all the rest was not indecent. You were not wrong to enjoy those things back then. And you wouldn’t be wrong to enjoy this now.
It’s perfectly healthy to accept that the world is not perfect AND to still enjoy things in life. If you feel otherwise I highly encourage you to change. Those who improve the world do not feel defeated.