Excuse my (mostly) incurable optimism, but could two successful private space launches in 9 days be something all Americans rally around together?
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Multi-billionaires seeking to escape a planet that is literally ravaged by systemic greed produces well-deserved cynical laughter. Optimism would be appropriate were they to do more to make things better for those here on earth.
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W/respect, many leveled exactly the same criticism at the moon landing in 1969. Then, the question was: why spend govt money on space when so many are suffering down here? Fair point. But does that apply to all exploration for all time? A matter of worthy debate not laughter
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Replying to @jimsciutto
I’m a huge fan of space exploration in general! It’s the billionaire boy toy element that is enraging: billionaires who could have done so much, did so little & even reaped such rewards during a time of collective agony now flaunt their fun before us & expect our congratulations.

Jul 21, 2021 · 4:03 AM UTC

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Replying to @marwilliamson
I hear you. I do. I just think we should wait to see where these projects lead. Early on, I thought Tesla was something of a luxury/vanity brand but it’s helped grow the electric vehicle market in the US. Space tourism is a rich man’s game but does it push the technology forward?
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But there's a context here. We're still in a pandemic where millions died while Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk etc vastly increased multi-$B fortunes. They had the chance to prove to the world that when situations are that critical the megacapitalists would come through - & they did not
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Replying to @marwilliamson @jimsciutto
I was especially floored when Bezos thanked his employees at the press conference just prior to giving $100 million “courage and civility” awards each to Van Jones and Chef José Andrés. It requires courage and civility to work for the miserable wages he pays. Thanks my ass.
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