Abandoning the Final Frontier and "Why don't we let the Russians bid on purchasing Louisiana?"

This weekend we went to Merritt Island to see my family before we move and to go to my cousin Tessa's graduation party. Incidentally, the Space Shuttle Atlantis had its final launch Friday at 2:20, so we left early to catch that.
I grew up in the shadow of the space program. My dad has worked at the space center since just after I was born, minus a few months after the Challenger accident in the 80s, when he got laid off for half a year. I played on an AAU baseball team called the Spacecoast Braves. I have always been extremely enamored by the whole deal...especially because my dad is such a part of it. We didn't make it to Kelly Park before the launch because most of the rest of Florida had the same idea, so Valerie, Carver and I watched the launch from the side of 528. It was awesome. Hundreds and hundreds of cars moving along at 20 miles per hour, and then at 2:18 or so we all pull over and watch the launch. I can't tell you how special it is to me that Carver got to see a launch, even if he won't remember it. One day when he is a little older I think he will be pretty awestruck that his grandpa was a part of such a program. I think its a real shame that the country that has always led the world in space travel, especially manned space travel, is giving up. Sure, a lot of money is spent on it, but it has brought us so many things we use today, including telecommunications, all satellite based technology, and thousands of products like Velcro. You can talk all day about the innovation of private industry, but the public won with the space program. Now we will pay $58 million to buy a seat for an American to ride up with the Russians, and have virtually zero ownership of current and future space station projects. This is like Lewis and Clark getting to about Nebraska and saying, "Meh, the rest is probably about the same. I'm sure there are no geysers or grizzlies, or volcanoes, or grand canyon, or salmon, or redwoods, or giant secoyas, or American hops, or the Salinas Valley. Let's just turn back. The price is too high to discover." They didn't say that, though! The other side of hard work is always worth it Mr. President! I know you know that!!!
Anyway, sorry for my bad attitude, its just hard for me to understand spending so much public money on weapons and defense and cutting a mission of human discovery completely.
The weekend was wonderful, though. It was priceless to see Carver at the beach. Its the first time he's been there since he started walking, and he walked into the waves with no fear. I loved it. I also loved seeing my family, and I'm so proud of the mature young woman my cousin is becoming. I am also dreading being so far from Ayden and Emilye. They better come hiking!

UPDATE!!! This day in history: May 17th, 1804, Lewis and Clark begin their exploration of the Louisiana purchase...a coincidence which superstitiously corroborates my opinion. But seriously, what a strange coincidence.