Addendum to Economy, Ego & Extropians

Rick Knight (rknight@platinum.com)
Tue, 20 May 97 13:35:01 CST

Hi again,

In my previous e-mail today, I meant to attach a quote that I got from
a guy by the name of Michael Ventura who used to (may still) write for
LA Weekly. The quote was to underscore my feeling about how overt
materialism preoccupies (at best) or sedates/immobilizes (at worst)
our citizenry.

"This is the death of the Republic: When the people clamor to be
shielded from reality, when they praise their government for keeping
things from them, when they choose to conduct their lives within the
limits of whatever fantasy the government supplies, then they are no
longer consenting to be governed, they are begging to be ruled."

Don't know if there are any "magic pills" out there to be the
stimulant needed to shake off more of the complacency that dulls the
senses of many in this culture but I'm hopeful that benevolent
thinkers and feelers, perhaps within the ranks of Extropians, will
emerge that will rally our resources together not only to take
responsibility but to act zealously to improve our communities and
restore our environment.

Regards,

Rick