Lest you think this is a bit out of character...

Doesn't actually change the message much, once you allow for who Calvin is, which is of course part of the enduring brilliance of the strip.

That’s roughly 99% of our history as a species. It’s only in the past century or so with the proliferation of electric lighting that we stopped seeing the stars. I think it’s something we probably need on some level, the way we need to see nature in general for mental wellbeing.