[extropy-chat] Scientists and engineers must work within the system

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Rik van Riel <riel at surriel.com> wrote:

> On Sun, 21 Nov 2004, Samantha Atkins wrote:
> 
> > This effectively says that scientists and engineers must play
> > politics instead of doing science and engineering. If so then
> > this is a symptom of an incredibly broken system that needs to
> > be repaired as quickly as possible. Simply playing the broken
> > system may do little more than legitimize the brokenness and
> > leave one's own work undone.
> 
> However, the only way of fixing the system is to play
> politics.  Oh, the irony...

Samantha's gripe is one typical of many libertarians, independents, and
apoliticals which are merely, IMHO, excuse making to rationalize
inaction.

The real irony is that the more you get involved, as I have in the last
few years, the more you discover how truly broken things really are
beyond what you thought from the outside, but you also discover that
you can be just as powerful and effective as anybody else in the system
if you only try, and that there are a lot of people already involved
who feel the same way as you and have been pining for reinforcements
for a long time.

There is no such thing as 'legitimizing brokenness' by getting
involved. By not getting involved, you assent to the brokenness by your
inaction.



=====
Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
                                      -William Pitt (1759-1806) 
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free! 
http://my.yahoo.com