An Open Letter to the Space Force
Dear Space Force,
*sigh*
Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence made a speech announcing more details of the United States Space Force, which will likely become the sixth branch of the military. The Trump Administration has argued that the Space Force will serve to protect the United States from "galactic threats," which mainly refers to satellite interference from China and Russia. Pence stated that the force would be fully integrated by 2020.
While these concerns are valid, it doesn't seem like investing $8 billion (yes, with a 'b') in a new branch of the already enormous U.S. military is the right solution.
To me, Trump's Space Force is eerily reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (nicknamed "Reagan's Star Wars"). Reagan believed that the SDI would give the U.S. a strong advantage over the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was an ambitious project, that involved space lasers, missiles, and various threat-detection systems. Eventually, the technology proved too complex and the pricy project was abandoned.
Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
And here we are, 34 years later, trying to do what Reagan did on even larger and more expensive scale. Of course we have more advanced technology, but that doesn't change the fact that the Space Force is still a waste of money.
Don't get me wrong: I love Star Wars as much as the next gal. And I would love to see a resurgence of government interest in space related programs. But, it seems as though that interest is very misdirected.
If Trump cares about space security so much, why not invest more in the established organizations designed for handling this kind of thing? The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) could probably put that money to better use that the U.S. military. Knowledge is the greatest weapon, after all.
It's dismaying to me that of all of the things that Trump has the power to fund, he chooses to fund the Space Force. Instead of pushing money towards the great life beyond Earth, we should instead focus on what's going on here and now. There is so much wrong with our world, and, as we all know, money is the best antidote.
Before we rush into space, we should take care of our planet. Trump's cuts to the EPA and the changes he has made to environmental policy are really hurting Earth. He weakened Obama-era fuel regulations. He plans to cripple the Endangered Species Act (which saved the bald eagle, btw). And he made cuts to the NASA climate monitoring program. Those things aren't even half of it.
In my opinion, pouring money into environmental protection sounds like a great idea. Although we face irreversible changes, any sort of effort to make things better still makes a difference.
Environmental change is one of many causes that Trump should fund instead of the Space Force. How about using the money to help reunite families that were separated at our border? Or to provide teachers with higher wages? Or to support research that is working to fight the opioid epidemic (which has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans)? There are so many causes that are far more worthy of $8 billion than the Space Force.
The irrationality of the Trump Administration continues to confound me. Part of me can't help but wonder why this Administration continues to make one idiotic decision after another.
And another part of me (the conspiracy part) knows that all of this is for show. It's so people like me with political blogs and journalists and news networks and writers everywhere waste time talking about the Space Force instead of the stuff that really matters. The Space Force is just a distraction that pulls us away from the questions that are difficult, the questions that make us uncomfortable.
It's so much easier to talk about abstract space lasers than it is to address children being shot down in their schools, families being separated, corrupt doctors, the lack of clean water in Flint, a broken middle class, a destroyed environment, an inherently racist society.
A divided people.
It's easier to criticize something that is so far away from us, so detached that we can't see that it's distracting us from the violence on our streets and the brokenness in our hearts.
The thing I hate most about the Space Force? That it's a diversion from every terrible thing happening on this little blue dot.
Yours truly,
P.S. https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote
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