At the January 26th, 2012 Florida GOP debate, Presidential candidate Ron Paul stated that space exploration isn’t important and should not be pursued. Paul insisted that private corporations instead invest in aerospace technology.

Paul’s anti-space message resonates well with lots of folks who don’t harbor the big dreams which could actually help to evolve our species in to something more spectacular and beautiful. Space is the final frontier. Its exploration is absolutely paramount to our progression and growth as human beings.

Ron Paul thinks that corporations, not government, should pursue adventurism on other worlds. Paul argues that government simply doesn’t have the money to embark on such quests. Whilst Paul is correct in terms of our bankruptcy as a nation, he is absolutely incorrect in his assumption that it would be best for private companies to dominate outer-space. Imagine Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and McDonalds claiming the planet Mars all in the name of profit. FORGET IT. If corporations ruled outer space, it would be damn near impossible for the common man to ever afford a trip to the stars.

I often like to approach the issues from a ‘third side’ perspective. On one hand we have the big government types who’d in a heart beat toss billions of tax payer dollars in to NASA which was incidentally created by Nazi scientists. On the other hand we have the limited government crowd which would rather our country conform as much as possible to antiquated documents such as the U.S. constitution which was forged in an era wherein ideals such as space exploration couldn’t have even been fathomed. My angle is wholly unique in that I consider both traditional sides of the argument as inherently flawed since both are coming from a monetary-based economic standpoint. In my envisioned world, money simply wouldn’t exist. Exploration of the cosmos therefore would be conducted out of a natural curiosity which would no doubt spark innovation thus enriching the species for many generations to come.

We must realize that it was the exploration of outer space which gave rise to much of the technology that we as consumers take advantage of today. Space is full of mystery just waiting to be uncovered. A culture which doesn’t recognize space exploration as paramount to its progression is one in which failure and defeat has taken hold. 

I’m with Ron Paul on 75% of the issues and believe that he is the only candidate who can bring some change to this most backwards of systems beneath which we dwell. But Paul is just dead wrong on space and I’m not afraid to call him out on it.