Some people also fail to realize that space exploration and research also produce technology that directly benefits people on Earth. CAT scans, anyone?
Challenges we face in the space program push technology forward, and that technology eventually finds its way into commercial use. We should be going to the moon, and Mars, and to the deepest reaches of our oceans. Without the ability to move forward and expand his horizons, man (as a species) stagnates, withers and dies.
Onward and upward, I say.
Davy Jones
"Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
-- The Wizard of Oz