This kind of reminds me of people saying the early European explorers we going to just fall off the edge of the earth.
Or even just questioning the use of a New World since they already had the Old World.
Being able to leave our planet and live somewhere else just might come in handy one day.
But this is dream: were it even physically possible, how many of Earth's population do you imagine could afford a seat? You really think you are going to be able to be put to sleep, shot into space and then wake up, have a good, healthy fart, brush your teeth and sally forth in your space suit and find everything ready and waiting for you, complete with band of musical "toy" soldiers to welcome your arrival? Really? Comparisons with exploration on a planet we already inhabit, which we are
designed to inhabit, is a red herring of an argument. Especially so when one considers just how much of this planet of our own we still find ourselves unable to inhabit.
And of course, none of the counter-arguments so far have touched on why it might be better to continue relegating so many millions of our own species to lives of squalor, disease, hunger and thirst rather than cleaning up this part of our domestic act before looking beyond to new places we might despoil.
One good thing I am prepared to cede: sexual harassment would then become very difficult from within a space suit...
Rob