X-Message-Number: 516
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 91 13:31:58 PST
From: 
Subject: Re:  cryonics: #514

Ben Best raises an interesting point regarding the world's attitude
toward things American.  He was speaking of Canada, but it applies
elsewhere as well.

Specifically, it was stated that one reason that B.C. officialdom
decided to outlaw cryonics was simply because they perceived it as an
Americanism!  It is entirely possible that the same reasoning may be
duplicated elsewhere.

For instance, in the Middle East, Americanism carries negative
connotations due to two things.  One is the U.S. support for the state
of Israel, which is of no import to the matter at hand.  The other is
the constant stream of "un-Islamic" ideas, practices and cultural
gewgaws that flows from America to the rest of the world.  The fact
that America is largely unconscious of all this is neither recognized
nor important.  As a result, **anything** American is looked on with
great suspicion, if not distaste.  The fact that some take a contrarian
view, seeing things American as good instead of bad, only serves to
raise the level of irritation of those who dislike things American.
America is perceived as a corrupting influence.

Many of America`s exported memes are perceived as evil in and of
themselves.  The rest suffer guilt by association.  It would appear
that the cryonics meme will fare similarly, unless something is done.
What that something might be is not clear, at least to me.  For one
thing, even if Immortalism and Americanism can be separated from each
other in the world's mind, it is likely that Immortalism/Cryonicism
would still be perceived as Western--which is almost as bad as
American.  And of course, Cryonicism/Immortalism is in direct competition
with entrenched and cherished memes local to each society, even without the
added connotational baggage of being foreign, Western or American.

The bottom line is that there appear to be two possible strategies for
spreading the Cryonics/Immortalism meme: 

	1) Challenge competing memes directly, conceding nothing and taking
	no prisoners.  This is all-out war (intellectually, at least).

	2) Compromise with competing memes, convince the audience
	that Cryonicism/Immortalism is compatible with existing memes--or at 
	least not incompatible. This is seduction, the "soft-sell."

My personality type naturally gravitates toward the first strategy.  However,
my intellect tells me--based on my reading of history--that the second 
strategy is much more effective for small minority groups such as we are.
 
The basic tactic for pursuing the soft-sell strategy is that the meme
must be "repackaged" for each market in which it is being sold.  The
advertisments that sell Hondas in Japan may differ from those used in
Germany.  Real sophistication comes when ads can be customized for the
religion, political philosophy, economic status, education level and
geographic region of the audience.  A poor southern Baptist of African
descent living in Louisiana and a rich atheist-socialist of Slavic
extraction living in the Berkeley hills have completely different
worldviews.  It is possible for either of them to accept the
Immortalism/Cryonicism meme--but each will do so for different reasons,
and will internalize the meme very differently.  And neither would make
a good salesman for the other.

This suggests that an attempt at repackaging the Cryonics/Immortalism meme
so that it appears more desirable to British Columbia officialdom should be
pursued.  Cryonicists/immortalists native to Canada will probably have to be
the ones to do this.  It will probably require much thought and no small dose
of creativity.  However, if we expect to "convert" the world, we must learn
how to do this.

Speaking of "converting the world," I have found that resistance to the
Immortalism/Cryonicism meme often simply vanishes once the audience
learns that you only seek the right to pursue immortality for yourself,
and do not intend to persuade the audience that they should do
likewise.  This does not make converts, but it does make friends of
those who would otherwise be enemies.

Our number one priority **ought** to be the freedom to practice what we
believe.  Given that, what do we care what others choose to do with their
lives?

--alan ()

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