X-Message-Number: 22609 From: "Steven Lacher" <> Subject: Cults, Sects, and #22605 Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 06:28:25 -0400 Hi all..... I only post once in a great while, when I'm really motivated to. The debate that John Grigg and whoever that was he was answering (Peter something, sorry I didn't catch the original mail) was about the desireability/validity of duping deathist sheep into following a sort of "Church of Cryonics" to help us along on our goals to successful de- and subsequent re-animation. That idea is pure anathema to me. To be a bit cheeky about it...you can lead a horse to the library, but you can't make him think. The thing about being a cryonicist is this -- it's an act of will to make the effort to understand the reason behind doing it, and the inherent logical and philosophical position required to get benefit from something which may never happen. As cryonicists, we all understand that this entire process is a sort of reverse Pascal's wager. (That is, if it doesn't work, we've not lost a thing, but if it does, we win big time.) You cannot dupe anyone into understanding this. Nor should you even try. I personally am happy to have a small group of other folks who think the same way I do to ensure my dewar is undisturbed. Those are the people I want to do the research to make that dewar unnneccessary at all, or at least just a temporary stop. It's those same contentious, motivated, intelligent, sometimes cranky but always passionate people that I trust to use the law and social process to protect their interests, which are also my interests. I've no desire to hoodwink those who'd feel otherwise into acting as some sort of workforce to protect me. It's a disgusting idea, not just because of its potential for failure, but because of the way it disrespects those who aren't already in the fold with us. I don't want to change the minds of the deathists. I just want them to stay the heck out of my/our way. It's sad that they choose to throw their lives away for whatever their reasons are, rather than try to extend them. But they are THEIR lives, and they are free to do with them as they like. Just so long as they recognise we have the same right to try like heck to keep our own lives going. You can't ask for respect, tolerance and freedom without being willing to give them in equal share. Just my two cents. --sincerely --Steven Lacher, Alcor member Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22609