There is a strong undercurrent that seems apparent when liberals start talking about NASA and the U.S. space program, and that is one of disdain. I have heard from numerous people the question "why waste time and money to send space probes to other planets and men to the moon when so many people are starving in America?" Other sentiments often ask what benefit the average person gains from the U.S. space program and why the U.S. spends so much money on "wasteful" scientific programs when we should be "taking care of our own people" back on Earth.
I must admit to being puzzled by this sentiment. A significant portion of the liberal community tends to be educated and fairly intelligent. Yet the anti-space program sentiments are fairly significant. People talk about cutting the space program, seeing it as wasteful and unnecessary. They feel there was no point to going to the Moon and no reason to send people to Mars. Indeed, since JFK it feels like we've abandoned our quest to shoot for the stars and instead look at our own feet and abandon the heavens above.
Few people don't admit there were some benefits to going to the Moon. The Apollo program brought about innovations in electronics and computers, innovations that allow us today to talk to each other from computer to computer. There were resultant improvements in communications and metallurgy to create lighter-weight substances which benefit industry today, allowing for improvements in our own economy. In short, while there are few short-range gains from the U.S. Space Program... there are numerous innovations that help to shape industry and society a decade or two down the road.
So here is the question: what purpose does NOT having a Space Program serve? What long-term benefits are there to eliminating NASA, ignoring the moon, and abandoning the stars?