/sci/ - Science & Math

The cancellation of the James Webb Telescope by house republicans is the last fucking straw.

Some kind of drastic action is needed to make it absolutely fucking clear that the longterm future of humankind is not up for a vote. That it has to happen regardless of whatever else we may cut, and that it's many times more valuable than the lives of the politicans who voted against it.

Today, it happens to be the conservatives who are fucking with human destiny. Yesterday it was the liberals. Tomorrow, who knows? Support for manned exploration seems to wax and wane on both sides for petty, opportunistic reasons. Want to appear financially prudent? Cut back on NASA. Want to appear visionary and pro-future? Increase NASA's budget.

NASA is too important to be subject to political whims. Private industry is stepping up to the plate but there will never be a profit motive for establishing colonies on other planets, only in satellites, weapons systems and perhaps one day asteroid mining. We need government funded space exploration to do the things for which there is no business case.

For that reason we've got to get off our asses and stop silently watching as our species' future is flushed away. We need to do something that makes it absolutely fucking clear that opposition to humankind's efforts to become a multiplanet species will not be tolerated. We have to win over a strong majority to a pro-science, pro-space colonization worldview and eliminate the influence of the remainder who will not change their minds.

How we go about this is up for debate. Let's hear what you've got.