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Also, bringing up Proxima Centauri is... odd, to say the least. Barring some unforeseen leap in our understanding of physics, we're centuries away from leaving or even fully exploring our own solar system.
Everybody's focused on Mars right now, and it's not a horrible thing -- I think the idea of going to Mars captures imagination, and it's our best option for breaking new extraterrestrial ground at the moment, since we don't really have anywhere else in the solar system that's even remotely hospitable to human life. There are, however, a number of practical issues with such a mission that need to be overcome, and a lunar base combined with knowledge gained on the International Space Station is our best way of learning how to cope with the issues that come out of such a concept.
Science fiction has conditioned people to simply gloss over the practical problems of space exploration/exploitation. We can't just reverse polarities and recombobulate tractor beams -- when something goes wrong in space, people are probably going to die. This is why it's important for us to start with relatively small steps. A lunar base is a key part of that.
I don't know why more people don't bother to understand this. Some of it gets complicated sure, but the underlying concepts are relatively simple.
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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said
- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
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