X-Message-Number: 26564 From: "Beth Bailey" <> Subject: More about religion and cryonics Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2005 20:09:08 -0400 Re: The London Bombings Here is the URL of an article that shows one aspect of religion influencing the world at large: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1072-1684970,00.html Also, a follow-up response to David Pizer's recent reply to me: PIZER SAID: I also fear what "their" reaction might be to a lawsuit. But I also think we should weigh the potential benefits that this might bring. It makes me sad when we sit by helplessly doing very little. I also feel we need to do something dramatic. Sure, we will win out in the end, say, in a couple hundred years. But think of all the dead-forever people there will be in the meantime that we might have helped. Re: It makes me sad when we sit by helplessly doing very little. My response: Because of the nature of the world we live in, the act of signing up for cryonics in and of itself is a HUGE statement of courage. The sheer force of will, organization, and fortitude it takes to be a cryonicist is the antithesis of "helpless." Ask any potential suicide bomber, with sufficient motivation dying is easy. Staying alive takes brains, guts, and heart. I suppose this whole cryonics vs. religion topic has really struck a chord with me because I have been trying to convince my very religious husband to sign up for cryonics. Re: I also feel we need to do something dramatic. My response: There are 7 basic dramatic plots: overcoming a monster, rags to riches, quests, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. For the audience to care, the story has to connect with them on a gut level. In this case, the "audience" would be people not signed up for cryonics. The dramatic goal would be to make the audience identify with and actually root for cryonics to win. For example, Romeo and Juliette 2035 (with apologies to William Shakespeare); young couple, deeply in love, separated by misguided family members. Romeo takes a poison that simulates death. When he wakes up, Romeo finds that the distraught Juliette actually killed herself, and her parents have placed her in cryonic suspension. What should Romeo do? I would rather read a book or see a movie depicting a religion vs. cryonics scenario because you can present your case with as much drama as you see fit, manipulate the audience's emotions anyway you want them to go, and still write yourself a happy ending. Not something that real-life generally allows you to do. I would also like to propose the following alternative to a lawsuit in order to facilitate positive PR and drama: Rags to riches: Find a financially disadvantaged church in your community and work with them to set up a scholarship fund for a deserving child to go to college, with the following stipulations: the scholarship recipient must study a scientific field that can benefit cryonics, he or she must maintain a B average or higher, and must also sign up for cryonic suspension. (If they let their cryonics membership lapse, they must pay back the scholarship money.) Following the above guidelines, set up a scholarship fund for nursing, EMT and mortuary science students. If you give young people the opportunity to get an education, become financially stable, and participate in cryonics, I believe this would build positive relationships and make allies in the community. Lastly, to David Stodolsky: David Stodolsky said: We periodically hear the refrain that cryonics will be accepted when the first reversible suspension is demonstrated. The conclusion from this assumption is that more cryo-biological research is the best investment for the future. My response: I agree that research into the technologies that will make cryosuspension and reanimation successful are of the utmost importance. David Stodolsky said: On the other hand, failure to heed the political and social aspects of cryonics has repeatedly caused serious problems and might be seriously inhibiting growth. My response: Again, I agree with you, and I think that we have to devise positive ways to make cryonics socially acceptable to the general public. Corporate branding (which you mentioned in message #26557: Re: sales probabilities) could be one way to go. Content-Type: text/html; [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=26564