X-Message-Number: 18520
From: 
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 19:56:10 EST
Subject: Pro-Act vs. the Pro-Death Coalition, aka a rant against fundies.

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Hello, Dear Cryonetaholics, (boy, my spellchecker gagged on this word!)

I have followed with interest the Dr. Kass thread.  Based on his published 
writings, we may have found the new anti-hero of the extropian generation.  
We can put him up with Bill Joy and Jeremy Rifkin as poster boys for 
relinquishment of technology and progress.  

And no, it is not sufficient for these people to choose to PERSONALLY 
relinquish new technologies.  They are going to insist that they have the 
right to prohibit ANYONE, ANYWHERE from engaging in activities that they 
disapprove of.  

Now, I have no objection to anyone choosing what level of technological 
enhancement s/he chooses in their own personal life.  If Jeremy Rifkin wants 
to go naked and live in the woods without benefit of plumbing, shelter, 
electricity, or any technology, he can "have at it."  I don't even care if he 
chooses leaves over technologically superior toilet paper during his personal 
behind wiping experience.  

But when these people become the head of "bioethics" committees with the 
power to make and influence coercive and ignorant laws and policies, I have a 
SERIOUS objection.   


While seeking to develop an emotionally moving and psychologically impactful 
rant here, I cannot even begin to approach the power of James Swayze's 
posting on this subject several months ago.  James understands that a law 
criminalizing therapeutic cloning can mean that he may not be able to get the 
stem cells that could help him walk or function without constant pain.  We 
now have several others who have joined this list who also need medical 
enhancements to hope to have "normal" abilities.  

While it may seem self-evident to many on this list that this neo-luditism is 
ludicrous, wrong-headed, and, for lack of better word, "evil," we must 
acknowledge that this orientation is very appealing to a large number of 
people.  Many of these people are highly influential.  President Bush has 
essentially banned cloning, making no distinction between therapeutic and 
reproductive cloning.  Conservative "Christians" are highly organized, well 
funded, and led by our "mullahs" like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.  

Make no mistake, friends.  These people would happily take us back to the 
"dark ages" where religion and politics were the same thing.  There written 
and stated mission is a "theocracy" with state mandated religious and moral 
indoctrination.  These folks would prefer a society in which the forces of 
rationality, science, technology, and personal enhancement must be 
subservient to religion. 

 While I would acknowledge that the Western religious right, our 
"fundamentalists" are a long ways from the extremism of the Taliban, I 
suggest to you the orientation of the religious "true believer" is the same 
in both groups.  

Whatever particular brand of religious superstition and mythology happens to 
the particular mind poison and persuasion at the time, the religious right 
represents a serious threat to the kind of wide open, technologically 
enhanced, humanitarian future some of us envision.  

WHICH IS WHY I AM GLAD WE HAVE PRO-ACT. 
I support the ideologies and ideals of the nascent Pro-Act organization.  I 
believe Natasha-Vita More is the principle founder, and I understand that 
Harvey Newstrom is also a director.  This group is founded as an attempt to 
create some support and interaction among pro-technology, pro-life extension, 
pro-life enhancement groups.

At the last Extro meeting I attended, Pro-Act was introduced by Natasha, with 
great enthusiastic support from the gathered extropians.  (Nothing like 
preaching to the choir...but the choir needs to be preached to about this 
issue IMHO.)

Unfortunately, I have not heard a great deal about or from PRO-ACT since the 
last extro meeting.  The reality is, every good thing (and maybe bad thing 
too) takes time.  Someone has to write a well researched and thought 
provoking response to Kass and his ilk, every time he publishes or gets a 
press sound bite.  If we allow deathist memes to continually go unchallenged, 
the vast majority of sheepish minds out there will not know there is a group 
ACTIVELY pushing for appropriate and safe use of developing technologies.  

This is why I have just become a Senior Associate of the Foresight  
Institute.  And why I will be going on April 26-29 to Silicon Valley to spend 
time with people at the forefront of this developing ideological battle.  
 
Drexler and the Foresight Institute are currently some of the best 
spokespeople for moving forward with research and technology, while 
encouraging guidelines for self-regulation.  Drexler, Peterson, and others at 
Foresight understand that innovation friendly policies must be developed.  
Without these, there is a real danger that truly coercive, anti-science, 
ant-progress, "unextropian" laws and policies will be promulgated by the 
powers that be.  Doing this takes time.  And money.  While I am as leary of 
anyone on this list about "altruism," there truly are those among us who are 
taking a leadership role that will benefit all of us.  And I want to do what 
I can to support these leaders.

I will close this rant here, hoping that this vital thread continues 
periodically on cryonet and that clearer thinkers and writers than me can 
articulate our position.  And make it more public.

Rudi Hoffman
Member Financial Planner's Association, Certified Planner
Member ALCOR Life Extension Foundation
Member Libertarian Party    
Member National Rifle Association
Member Extropy Foundation
Board Member Port Orange Chamber of Commerce
Board Member Daytona Salvation Army (Yeah, I still am...they do some good 
work...*despite* of, not because of their religiosity.)
Senior Associate, Foresight Institute


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