But the Mars missions, the ISS, and all the rest was not indecent. You were not wrong to enjoy those things back then. And you wouldn’t be wrong to enjoy this now.

It’s perfectly healthy to accept that the world is not perfect AND to still enjoy things in life. If you feel otherwise I highly encourage you to change. Those who improve the world do not feel defeated.

The bad things should make you even more thankful for the good. It’s perfectly healthy to allow yourself to enjoy the positive things in life, especially during the dark times.

Or are you considering this for the first time?

They’re almost exclusively related to political reasons. “There are problems in the world, therefore I can’t enjoy this” is flawed reasoning and isn’t even something that they apply to any other interest. It’s just special pleading.

Taken as a whole, the 60’s were far more intense and violent. The Vietnam War. The draft. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Racial inequality and protests. Several major assassinations. Nixon in the White House. And that’s just the US.

The world is net-better even if certain areas still need improvement. But there’s really no point to hyperfocusing on just the things that are worse.

That’s… not true at all. You’re not a history guy, are you?

My subscription is only $10 a month, and it has unlimited inline suggestions. I just wonder if I’m missing anything.

Plus, do you not have any other interests besides the state of the world? No interest in entertainment or sports or tech news at all? I doubt that if you’re on HN.

My bet is that you wouldn’t care even if the world was objectively better than ever. You’re just coming up with excuses for why you don’t care. It’s fine if you don’t care, but it’s certainly not because of the state of the world. Otherwise you wouldn’t have any interests at all, including HackerNews.

If so, I’m genuinely sorry for you. I hope you can find joy somewhere everyday. If you do already do that, then why not Artemis as well?

I’m almost certain you have genuine interests beyond your financials, and enjoy entertainment in general.

The fact is, the vast majority of people (and perhaps yourself) never actually cared about space or space exploration. I think most of this dismissiveness comes from people thinking they SHOULD care, and need to rationalize why they don’t.

People don’t get their “news” from news agencies anymore, though. They get it from their social media algorithms, and if they have no prior interest in anything space or tangential to space, they won’t get news about it.

And if they did hear about it, it probably didn’t connect whatsoever, and their brain filled it away in the same place as “city bus makes successful stop at bus stop.” Because they couldn’t care less.

Culture is far less centralized, for better or worse.

Or are you maybe just generally uninterested in space exploration?

They know it happened but they have zero interest in it or the history.

That’s why the average person doesn’t cares now. They never actually did.

Young men were being drafted, taken from home, and forced to kill people across the world.

African Americans were fighting for basic rights and equality.

A President, a major Presidential candidate, and the most prominent civil rights leader were all assassinated.

It’s not like Apollo was happening during the golden age of America or something…

If you actually do appreciate Apollo, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to appreciate Artemis.

The average person thinks NASA’s only mission of note was Apollo 11, they don’t even realize there were 5 other landings.

It’s just too abstract, too complicated, and too far away for them to feel connected to it. It’s not attached to national pride (anymore), it’s not connected to tragedy (typically), it’s not connected to celebrities they feel like they know (Katy Perry isn’t involved with this launch)… there’s just nothing for the average person to connect with.

Every other explanation is just an excuse from people who feel like they should care, but never have.