I agree on some level with both Dragan and SpaceBatMan.
I have always been mystified with the fanatic support for some things on earth (Sports figures earning millions of dollars) and not enough support for other things (Teachers and firemen and policemen not getting nearly a comparable wage).
Regardless of my confusion, it still is the reality. I believe that space exploration has several values. There is value in learning anything new. There is value in learning how to do things differently (In vaccuum, less gravity, etc) and then applying that back home. There is value in getting technologists all fired up creating new technologies, many of the near misses being very useful as well.
To only work for today's problems is short sighted. It is like spending all your effort to build a fire and gather wood to feed it, and not building a good shelter. You have to prepare for the future as well as fix the present, and new technologies and creative attitudes do help the future.
You also must not loose sight of the current issues. It also makes no sense to spend all your efforts building a shelter for next year, and ignore the fire today, if you get so cold that you get sick and die...
I often use an old saying that I think applies here. Anyone who truely wants to beat a forest fire needs to have as many people cutting down trees as those he has tossing buckets of water.
That balance is a difficult one to maintain, but well worth the effort...
Karl Ian Sagal
Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.
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