<html>
<body>
Frankly, a true and correct vision of transhumanism would not be
nationalistic, but for the future - whatever organization of people and
governing/ruling of society takes place.<br><br>
Just like pitting one country against another, pitting one political
position against another is lacking in scope and sorely missing the
thrust of transhumanism.<br><br>
This is precisely why I oppose the forced democracy of WTA and the
insistence by James Hughes, Mike, or Dirk - or any of us that one
political position is better than another and that people have to fit
neatly into a political box. All of them - us - have positive
things to offer to the world and it would be good to see them realized
rather than used to dismiss and/or criticize others within our
community.<br><br>
What we need to do is to get futuristic and learn how to rise above this
20th Century inability to resolve conflict.<br><br>
My best to all,<br>
Natasha<br><br>
<br><br>
I am not saying that<br><br>
At 01:23 AM 6/29/2005, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">> Perhaps, unless Hubert
wants right of reply, this Meta has gone<br>
> past its usefulness and we might relabel future posts to
reflect<br>
> content?<br>
><br>
> Regards,<br>
> Brett Paatsch<br><br>
<br>
Well, I tried to come up with a reply. But again I deleted four drafts.
Just<br>
this:<br><br>
I experienced the war on Iraq as a severe caesura. Up to that point
I<br>
enjoyed discussions about trancending the biological restrictions of<br>
mankind. The war changed everything. Supposedly smart people outed<br>
themselves as coolhearted revanchists and believed the lies they were
told.<br>
Worst of all was and is the US patriotism, one of the major drives
and<br>
forces behind. In this special respect, the cultural gap between the USA
and<br>
Germany is not reconcilable. I simply cannot grasp it.<br><br>
I am still filled with indignation to read a post like the recent one
from<br>
Mike Lorrey where he callously calculates the "losses" in Iraq,
fools around<br>
with big numbers and tries to convince us that killing some people
today<br>
might result in better living tomorrow. Dear extropes: A man like him
with<br>
his political aspirations is a big threat to your noble case. He might
be<br>
able to pile up loads of informations to impress your innocent
hungry<br>
intellect, but the force behind it is a totalitarian one and reveals
the<br>
sheer ugliness of utilitarianism. It is a threat to your physical
and<br>
spiritual health and your freedom. And if a man like Stuart LaForge<br>
elaborates on the kindness (sic!) of US soldiers on battlefields all
over<br>
the world, everything else he might contribute to this list, is in
my<br>
opinion reduced to a pile of shit. Period.<br><br>
Since the beginning of the war on Iraq I have acquired a bad reputation
as a<br>
person who only seems to use dirty word and insult people. I do not
regret a<br>
single post and pledge for the right of *not* writing in a civil tone,
while<br>
others cold heartedly and verbosely support the killing of innocent
people<br>
10.000 miles away from their home. This movement is a dead duck, if
you<br>
allow false patriotism as a source of territorial pissings to be
prolonged<br>
into potential eternity in a future transhuman society. At least, this
is<br>
not *my* vision of transhumanism. Get a little more Un-American!<br><br>
Love and Peace<br><br>
humania<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
extropy-chat mailing list<br>
extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org<br>
<a href="http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo/extropy-chat" eudora="autourl">
http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo/extropy-chat</a> </blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<dl>
<dd><font size=2><a href="http://www.natasha.cc/">Natasha
</a><a href="http://www.natasha.cc/">Vita-More</a>
<dd>Cultural Strategist, Designer
<dd>Studies of the Future, University of Houston
<dd>President, <a href="http://www.extropy.org/">Extropy Institute</a>
<dd>Founder, <a href="http://www.transhumanist.biz/">Transhumanist Arts
& Culture</a> <br><br>
</font>
<dd><font face="Times New Roman, Times"><i>Knowledge is the most
democratic source of power.</i> Alvin Toffler
<dd><i>Random acts of kindness... </i>Anne Herbet<br><br></font>
</dl></body>
</html>