I don't think I've ever met or heard of a person who's into space travel who would embrace it as an exercise in escapism. To me, it seems that it's something only said by people who don't like space programs.
You're totally wrong. I have nothing against space in itself. Just anything grandiose and technological feels absurd in our era. We have too much tech and not enough happiness. More tech is just chasing the exhilarating sensations of the early days of the last tech revolution.
Come on, the whole new world discovery had bad roots. It was to expand to find wealth and get fat. Colombus isn't responsible but the big picture is that the ~amazing discovery resulted in massive genocides from north to south america.
Oh yeah, I'd have zero problem not knowing about cultures that were already living their own live minding their own business. You know researchers today have a rule to not pollute or disrupt ecosystems they study. Constrating.
Hm. The amount of starvation, disease and hardship in the old days are not to be wished on anyone. The world coming into communication has its upside too.
Granted, the New World suffered grievously by contact - an estimate 100M dead from diseases they were unequipped to handle. So there's that.
