X-Message-Number: 1433
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 14:12 EST
From: LEVY%
Subject: CRYONICS: RE: Charles Platt on recruitment

I feel obliged to address Charle's Platt's recent posting about recruiting
non-libertarians (or anti-libertarians) as suspension members.   First, I 
agree with both of the sentiments I detected in Carlos' posting: 
(1) Environmentalists, despite their claims about the sanctity of _all_
life, seem driven by a fundamental guilt about human progress, seeing mankind

as an unnatural blight on an otherwise pristine ecosystem.  I believe that there
are environmentalists who have a more rational attitude, but the media have 

given me no reason to think that such persons form a majority, or even a poweful
minority.   (2) There is no reason to recruit people with whom we  disagree
about fundamental issues when we (especially, the pioneers 
of the cryonics movement) have sacrificed a goodly portion of our lives 
because of our stance on those issues.  In following Voltaire's dictum that
"I may disagree with you, but I will defend unto the death your right to say 
it," we should avoid adding a codicil to the effect that "I must also
associate with and support you."  Our government lost sight of this truth
long ago, and we are now paying the price as citizens.  I hope that we as
cryonicists will not suffer the same demise.

-- Simon D. Levy
Extropy Institute Director
Alcor Suspension Member

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