From: MaxPlumm@aol.com
Date: Tue Feb 18 2003 - 12:37:55 MST
I find this entire idea of "banning" Iraq discussion ridiculous, in the same
sense that one might find the idea of banning stem cell research or abortion
ridiculous. Let's just get a whole bunch of shouters together and silence
public discourse. The fact that the war "will not be decided here" is
irrelevant, given that almost anything not directly relating to the upkeep of
this web site will not be directly "decided here." So, why not ban all
discussion?
And what's with randomly picking 3-4 months as the time frame of the ban?
Should we, at the end of that period, call together the Extropian Security
Council and vote to extend it if something so ghastly as differing opinions
remain present? It has been said on this site before "politics are only 10%
of what's interesting that we discuss". That may be true, but it doesn't make
it 10% of what's important. Almost any meaningful change in the foreseeable
future will be need to be made through political/governmental channels, so we
might as well acknowledge their existence.
In closing, I would say that it's unfortunate that some feel the list "can do
much better than this" and feel the only solution is to dictate what should
and what shouldn't be discussed. Some on the list have repeated the same
frequent arguments, I agree. But others have repeatedly provided various
links that I find both informative and or frightening. So I don't concur that
the discussion is simply going around in a complete circle. There's room
enough in my view for many different discussions on Extropy, and I for one
think if you find the Iraq discussion less than illuminating, then don't
participate.
Regards,
Max Plumm
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