[extropy-chat] letter concerning presidential growth

[Jeff Davis]

--- Brett Paatsch <bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au> wrote:

>> [This topic] is also increasingly off-topic for
>> this list.
> 
> No my respected American correspondent, it is not. 
> 

Though I understand Harvey's and Eugen's fierce
objection to this type of discussion -- an objection I
expect stems from the fact that such discussions
rapidly devolve into a persistant partisan flame fest
of ignorance, fact-free bias, and ad hominem attacks,
ending only when the last time-wasting moron still
jerking off can find no one to match his own tolerance
for self-humiliation -- despite this, I agree with
Brett that this is both a very important topic and one
that is highly extropic.  That is, it ***could*** be
highly extropic ***if*** civility could be maintained
and the flame fest avoided.  

Politics is a uniquely human phenomenon, complex and
emergent, which victimizes humans everywhere, and
which arises from the legacy of "primitive" human
nature.  My impression of extropy is that it seeks to
enhance/improve humans, or, stated another way, seeks
to enhance/improve human nature.  Thus the study of
politics/human nature seems a perfectly apt starting
point for the human improvement part of the extropic
plan.  In fact, as I recall, Max's remarks at Extro 3
(and perhaps later Extros) were directed at the need
to improve human nature.     

But the flame fest and incivility cannot be avoided. 
Because such discussions inevitably attract morons
(bring out the moron in each of us).

Best, Jeff Davis

   "Everything's hard till you know how to do it."
                           Ray Charles


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