Goals and Values

I believe that everyone who desires to study the cosmos should be able to do so. There are numerous barriers in the way that keep people from pursuing that goal on account of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexuality, disability, and all manner of other axes. In a just world, none of this would be the case and people could just be. Therefore, for me there is no studying astronomy without being dedicated to the liberation of all oppressed peoples, since that is the only way we will ever be able to just exist. I can't prescribe values to other people, but for me it is crucial as an inhabitant of this universe to learn as much as possible about what's in it and how it works. I truly shudder to think we could live on Earth knowing nothing about what lies beyond.

That said, it is not lost on me that money must come from somewhere and that astronomy can often be a colonial endeavor. The Max Planck Institute being the primary collaborator for a telescope in Namibia, the US operating Arecibo out of Puerto Rico until its collapse, the subsequent decision not to rebuild despite the generations of Puerto Rican astronomers who cut their teeth on it, the question of building yet another telescope atop Mauna Kea, JWST launching from French Guiana, none of these things are coincidences. Owning land that shouldn't be yours means that you can optimize where astronomy is performed. While this can be done in ways that involve or even empower local people, seeing as though people from all walks of life have studied the cosmos since the dawn of humanity, there is no getting around the colonial processes that make this kind of science possible. So I choose to imagine (and work toward) an astronomy that doesn't require subjugation. I choose to believe there can be an astronomy that isn't funded from the same pot that funds wars and genocides, and doesn't rely on defense contractors and wealthy wannabe superheroes to advance its initiatives.

Often I have reflected on the justification for using some fraction of taxpayer money (however small) to pay for something as expensive as astronomy. I have moved on from a fear that the money could be better spent elsewhere to an understanding that we are being presented with false dichotomies. The money is there to fund the arts, new telescopes, curing cancer, and whatever else the boundless human imagination can fathom. I know it's there because I see how much the United States give the military. Whenever we are asked to choose, the choice of imperialism is being made for us, as it is never taken out of the running. Now that I know what's there I refuse to stop asking for more, believing (even when it gets really difficult) that a better world is possible. Astronomy is not the most important thing, it isn't (directly) saving lives, and it isn't feeding the hungry (unless you count astronomers). But I know we aren't limited to the things we must do, rather we have the privilege to do what we desire. Anyone telling you the opposite is lying.