We do have theoretical technologies that could propel a ship or probe at speeds more reasonable for interstellar travel. We could certainly build them if we did

We do have theoretical technologies that could propel a ship or probe at speeds more reasonable for interstellar travel. We could certainly build them if we did something dramatic like cutting the US defense budget in half and putting the money towards space exploration. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pulse_propulsion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pulse_propulsion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoplasmadynamic_thruster http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoplasmadynamic_thruster