I could very well have written what you posted there. I agree with just about every line in it, which is rare on this forum these days...
I admit, that is why I do come here and pay my dues. I live in a very blue state, and it is good to see I am not alone in this.
As for the lack of urgency...well. I have always thought it is part and parcel of human nature, always to be battled. Nobody wants to fix something difficult until the pain becomes too much to ignore.
I too admire Elon Musk and his business model. It is primarily why I view NASA as toast. NASA cannot do things the way a private company can. They can’t be nimble. If Musk went in tomorrow and said to his team “Okay. Everyone, stop working on developing Raptor engines. We have as new design I have thought of, and we are going to pivot to that beginning today...” he could do that.
I view SpaceX the way many must have viewed the Wright Brothers back in 1903. Interestingly, they were going head-to-head with Langley in the race for powered flight, and Langley was the equivalent of NASA, using other people’s money from government, while the Wright Brothers were using their own.
Anyway, good post. I enjoyed reading it.
Sleeping in a shed on the beach in the cold and wind and rain does things to encourage dilligence so long as it does not make you give up.