Beset by the Iraqi morass, record deficits, a plummeting dollar, and increasing isolation from the rest of the world, President Bush wants us to go to Mars. He may not actually want to pay for it, because he doesn't have the money. But he wants us to go there anyway.Why?
First of all, let me state my position on a manned mission to Mars: we should go, and as soon as possible. Expanding our borders, both physical and intellectual, should be what humankind is all about. Historically, the times of greatest strife have also been the times of greatest achievement, and we should not allow the threat of terrorism, however large, sway us from achieving our wildest dreams.
On a practical level, the litany of advances in technology and lifestyle directly resulting from our space program is far too long to list here. As expensive as the moon landings were, they have more than paid for themselves in new and cheaper consumer products alone.
But that's not why President Bush wants to go there.
In fact, there is some question as to whether Bush really does want to go. Once President Kennedy announced his goal of putting a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth, he then set about getting the money appropriated to do the job. But the Bush administration is not willing to follow through, and NASA is now being forced to cut other programs, such as the Hubble space telescope, that are already producing spectacular results.
While Congress and the President are busy creating record levels of pork-barrel spending, you'd think they'd be able to find the money for this worthwhile program. As award-winning science fiction writer Ray Bradbury recently stated, one day's worth of defense spending per year could fund the whole program.
Or, if we just got out of Iraq...
Normally, presidents start thinking about their legacy soon after beginning their second term. But this President may not have a second term, and the legacy he is leaving is not pretty. Unnecessary war, record deficits, job losses, erosion of civil rights, serious environmental damage, spiraling health care costs ... the list goes on and on. If (make that "when") we do make it to Mars, however, he'll claim it was his idea (after all, didn't Al Gore invent the internet?). He'll probably want a colony on the moon named after him. (Georgetown? No, sorry, that's already taken.)
But if George W. Bush is already thinking about his legacy now, that doesn't bode well for Republican chances this fall. If the President is already giving up before the campaign is in full swing, how hard will he fight to win reelection?
On the other hand, perhaps President Bush is just looking for a place he can conquer and control without having to deal with daily reports of U.S. soldiers being killed.
Copyright 2004, Dan Jacoby
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