Because same dynamic as U.S. Vs. USSR in 1961. Political propaganda. The value of lunar exploration today after nearly 60 years from the first landing are zero. When Kennedy proposed it in 1961, computers were size of school bus. Today, in a refrigerator sized box filled with Nvidia chips, you can pack more intellect - not computing power - of all humanity - yes, all 8 billion of us. For much less money, you get much more science with a Venus, Jupiter or Sun program. Or a space telescope, we can use lot more space telescopes. Just don't waste money on Moon, Mars or Mercury. They are just rocks and not much is there to explore.