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Did putting men on the moon make you love our nation and culture more? Was it a point of national pride? Was it directly applicable to the national defense of our nation?

Missile technology was very much applicable to the national defense of the nation. So was getting to the moon before the Russians.

If you already agree with Wilson you're likely to find his comments wonderful. If aren't on his side to begin with, you may not be convinced.

And the "we can't afford not to spend the money" and "it's about our national greatness" arguments don't set a good standard for determining appropriations.

[allmendream]

Missile technology went into the NASA program, it didn't come out of it. We would have gotten a lot more “bang for the buck” building and testing more ICBMs rather than investing in a moonshot. Getting to the moon before the Russians is just as important (although much less applicable to the ongoing education of our Scientists) as having a particle accelerator as good as or better than the Europeans.

It is a point of national pride that we are second to nobody in the world in particle Physics, and we can do the research right here in the U.S.A.. Moreover particle accelerator technology has improved our knowledge and use of magnetics and super-conduction as well as Physics. The rail gun is probably directly attributable to accelerator technology.

And I do agree with Wilson about the greatness of Science as a pursuit in and of itself; without regard to its applicability to making bullets or bombs.

I do not know to what extent I am for government spending on any of the things that make our Nation great (art, poetry, music, science); but the moon shot and a major particle accelerator are two endeavors that would wait possibly forever for private industry; if not for visionary Statesmen who also saw it as a point of National pride to have these things accomplished by America.

Our government spends over a trillion a year nowadays, at lest we have a few things to show for it; Scientific accomplishments like putting men on the moon, and particle accelerators not being the least of it. After all we shouldn't spend it ALL on graft, welfare, Medicaid, social security, foreign aid, and national defense.