Yeah, it drives folks into a very defensive posture to not be right. Then we get the questioning about their Position that get's ignored, turned around, and becomes ammo for the emotion play. It's a very pervasive attitude among Western males, it seems. We can propose interesting avenues and this one is as interesting as many. The interest, to me is how people believe what they believe. Not so much what we believe, but how? And can we get to the bottom if reasonable debate can take place. It's just hard to separate those that are truely thirsty for increasing understanding from those that are trying to maintain a position. And it morphs as the raw insults pile up. Then there are those marginal personalities that just practice a haughty form of buzz kill, for their own amusement.
So, I've learned, Mr. H is not a buzz kill type. I try not to be. To me the question is not "IF," it's WHY does the US not have any missions planned but India, for example has manned missions planned out till 2030. Has the US seem all it need and the other nations need to see "something" for themselves?
It just occurred to me that this persistence myth, that we never went, could be just remnant of a smokescreen for that "something" we need other spacefaring nations to see, before the general public is alarmed to death.