I'm afraid I can't completely share your optimism, at least initially. Many
things on the Extropian agenda could potentially come under legal purview.
Christian groups have been shown to be highly effective lobbyists, and have
not been hesitant to block the approval of medical innovations which
challenged "traditional values." Good examples of this would be RU486, late
term abortions, and assisted suicide. And the problems won't be just with
evangelists. The bozos that were sounding the alarms about the UPC code
(and remember Ronald Wilson Reagan = 666?) weren't the same heavy hitters
(e.g. bishops and leaders of major denominations) that would get into the
fray when you start talking about totally redefining basic terms such as
"life" or "intelligence" and even assigning god-like attributes to
machines. Various legitimate ethical questions will undoubtedly be
approached from biblical perspectives, as absurd as such a juxtaposition
may seem, which could well have at least a da!
!
mpening effect. Like it or not, the religious types are very effective
organizers, and can do much to influence our freedoms. I think we'd better
get really used to hearing the accusation "playing God."
Regards,
Pat Inniss
http://home.sprynet.com/~inniss/
extropians@extropy.com wrote:
<snip>
I think there would initially be an outcry from the Christian fringe. But
eventually it would probably quiet down. I remember reading some Christian
propaganda about 20 years ago warning the faithful about the dangers of
computers and raising a ruckus about the fact that there was a
supercomputer in Europe nick-named "The Beast." Later the big scare was
UPC codes as precursors to the prophesied "mark of the beast."
Eventually the panic died down and now that everything you buy has UPC
codes on it Christians are as big consumers as any other segment in the
US. Also, any televangelist worth his holy collection plate now has his
own web site. So much for the holy technophobes.
-Zero
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