Done properly, Space College can become a vibrant, self-sustaining community that constantly seeks to identify and sere new participants while using its graduates as nuclei for stimulating further interest. With a growing, self-motivated cadre of graduate, students, faculty and supporters, the ability for those who see the value and potential of space exploration will be much greater than it is today.
Right now, the only organized subset of our society that seeks to self-identify with space and push for it to be funded are the so-called "space advocates". Space advocates are well-intentioned but they are a small isolated group of individuals who seldom manage to get their message out past the walls of their own groups. This has been the mode of operation of space advocacy for the past 30-40 years. It is somewhat inbred and is often referred to as "choir practice". Space advocate messages tend to fall flat outside of their circles - and this tends to reinforce the notion that people don't understand why space is important. Elevator speeches and white papers aren't the solution.
Space-related education and outreach as practiced by space agencies and space advocates is all too often predicated upon the assumption that everyone should be naturally excited about space - if only they were properly informed. Well, not everyone thinks like space advocates in this regard. If space exploration is to be a career path promoted on a par with others, and gain adherents, then space exploration needs to be promoted in a manner that reaches a wider audience in terms they will take notice of - not in ways that space advocates assume that they will.
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