Uh, what?

Landing on Mars is a pointless exercise in high-tech chest beating.Perhaps the Republicans think it gets them some votes in Florida,but the money would be better on drug rehabilitation in cities like Newark.

Come on. Are we to assume you think it's inappropriate for us to be sending missions to Mars whilst people starve elsewhere in the world? That's ridiculous. It's incumbent upon us, as the wealthiest society in the world, to keep stretching the boundaries of scientific knowledge. That's a big reason that we are as wealthy as we are. We can't feed, clothe, and house the rest of the world, nor should we try.

I didn't take that to be the point at all. I took the juxtaposition as observant, more than scornful. There's a lot to be exuberant about, and there's a lot to be concerned about, and that's all I took from it. And it is, in fact, interesting to think about how different life is in the world for different people, depending on where they were born. I don't think it has to be judgmental; it's just interesting.