[thechat] Is NASA lost in space

[Erika Meyer]

Judah wrote:
>It seems like our government has gotten away from doing big,
>important things that really make a long term impact.  NASA is one of
>the few places left like that and I know that the people there have a
>big emotional stake in what they do.


Education: same concept.  Important.  Long term impact. No immediate
payoff.  And teachers also have a big emotional stake in what they do.

But teachers are treated like dirt.  Must teach to standardized tests
to get political brownie points.  Paid shit for wages.  Patronized by
administrators and politicians.  While the same politicians publicly
talk about how wonderful teachers are.  (It's kind of like being a
mother.  Thanks for the hallmark card but what if I need health care?)

Maybe NASA scientists also have the same problem as teachers, or
maybe they are instead treated like the experts they are, I don't
know.

I am not bitter toward NASA.  I'm angry at the politicians and the TV
people.   I'm angry about the relative weight given by media to
different events and how that skews our perception of reality and the
relative value of different tasks.

It's not just an intellectual exercise, there are humans, many of
them children, around the world, who are simply being ignored to
death.

Everytime I dare turn on the TV spin thru the channels and every
fluffy talking head is rehashing the same event over and over and
over and over it just galls me.

(I really need to get VH1 or valium or a TV brick or something)

Erika