In an opinion column for The Hill, former White House and Pentagon official Douglas MacKinnon argues that humanity should get part of itself permanently off Earth, and urges readers to put political hatred aside and let Elon Musk, whom he calls a once-in-a-century mind, lead that push. MacKinnon cites Musk's Mars colonization dream, warns that the Russia-Ukraine war could trigger nuclear conflict, and predicts the midterm's end may free Musk to focus on space despite threats to investigate or imprison him.