I encountered the idea of space migration several decades ago while under the influence of LSD. Anyone who has entered an altered state of mind and who is able to put two and two together eventually becomes neurally imprinted with the idea (looking at you Elon). In my youthful ardor, I spread the gospel of space migration far and wide among friends, acquaintances, teachers, and anyone who would care to listen. Some listened with curiosity, giving me the soft smile that you give a child who suddenly declares himself king and proceeds to run around with his underwear on his head. Surprisingly, some people were downright hostile to the idea of space migration, as if I had just announced plans of shooting their mothers to the moon.
Oh, I don't want to be stuck up there in a tin can like a sardine; we should take care of the planet first; we'll just destroy other places; children are starving in Africa; this is just for rich people; and so on and so forth.
The objections came mainly from the old, but a few young ones, whom I thought were cool, did not dig the idea either. That's when I realized that not everyone was willing to take the next mutational step in our evolution, or even accept its inevitability.
"You'll never get me up on one of those," said the caterpillar to the butterfly.
This humorous phrase refers to the fact that the caterpillar, in his/her larval state, cannot fathom the airy reality of the butterfly. They live in two different worlds. While the caterpillar contentedly munches on the leafs of earthly life, concerned mainly with survival, the butterfly is fluttering around flashing her sexy colours and encountering more realities per minute than the slow sluggish caterpillar, who is unaware of the metamorphosis that she will eventually have to undergo. She will find excuses why she'd never don a pair of wings and fly around freely in the garden of delights. Eventually, she'll come around though. She has no choice. When it's time to cocoon, it's gonna cocoon whether you're for or against cocoons.
Fast-forward years later, and humans are now coming out of their earthly larval state and becoming a galactic species. What's more, the push is being spearheaded by a man whose psychedelic shenanigans likely led him to this singular tunnel-vision of traveling to Mars. His experimentation with mind-altering substances is well known, and his far out evolutionary vistas are familiar to alchemical explorers the world over. While the straight-laced squares at NASA are still picking their noses about space migration, Elon is already blasting Teslas into space. There are many forces out there who would love nothing better than gain control of his empire, particularly those who believe that Big Daddy Government should be in control of the affairs of the citizens. I'm just glad Elon is not playing along with them in spite of their current attempts to use (and abuse) their judicial power to force him to bend the knee. Let's go, Elon!
Would I migrate to space if given the chance? Not in the current state of colonization. I want to live in gleaming cities across the solar system. Who wants to be stuck up there in a tin can like a sardine, right? I'd rather spend the rest of my life traveling this blessed earth, tripping out on cultural and bio-diversity, exploring the antipodes of the mind, and chatting with the pretty ladies.
But someone has to get up there and build those space faring civilizations. That's you, lads and lasses, the young, the bold, and the curious. The colorful flighty butterflies. It won't be easy. Let's shoot straight. It won't be a walk in the park. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears lie ahead. Becoming a galactic species, and living to the tell the tale, will be messy business. This ain’t Minecraft. As we take those tentative steps forward and spread our wings, we fix our gaze on the horizon and blast off into the new frontier.
All images (except the drunk cat and stoned Elon memes): 
