X-Message-Number: 15010
From: 
Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 13:26:10 EST
Subject: presidents and patients

The ongoing electoral circus does serve a useful purpose or two, especially 
in reminding us that a little can sometimes mean a lot. 

If (roughly) a hundred votes out of a hundred million can occasionally make 
the difference, how much more we must consider the results of our activity 
(or inactivity) as related to our families and cryonics! 

A little bit of extra effort, or a little bit of additional perseverance, 
could EASILY mean the difference between life and death for yourself or a 
family member or a friend or for many strangers. 

Needless to say, we always have to strike a balance, e.g. between dictates of 
consience carried to extremes on the one hand, and the desire for a 
reasonably stable and comfortable life on the other. In times of crisis, the 
dictates of conscience must take precedence and we should go the extra yard 
or the extra mile. At other times (Are there any other times?) we can lighten 
up a bit, and where you draw the line is up to you. 

What you do in an election COULD (rarely) make a difference, and the result 
will probably matter very little anway. What you say to a friend about 
cryonics is much more likely to make a difference in the outcome, and the 
outcome could be life or death. What you do for your family's cryonics 
arrangements almost certainly WILL make a difference, again involving life or 
death and your own peace of mind. 

Robert Ettinger
Cryonics Institute
Immortalist Society
http://www.cryonics.org

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