From: Jeff Davis (jrd1415@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Aug 27 2003 - 16:43:51 MDT
--- Natasha Vita-More <natasha@natasha.cc> wrote:
> Can you write a template to put up on your, and
> other, websites for people
> to print out, sign and send?
>
> Natasha
This page:
David C. Hollister Biography
http://www.michigan.gov/cis/0,1607,7-154--46748--,00.html
links to this page:
A Note to Director Hollister
http://www.cis.state.mi.us/insidecis/director/note_to_mayor.htm
I sent him an earlier draft of the following missive.
Use it however you will: as is, or modified/edited, or
as a jumping off point, or not at all.
(You may find the hostility toward religion
impolitic.)
Best, Jeff Davis
"My guess is that people don't yet realize how
"handy" an indefinite lifespan will be."
J Corbally
---------------------------------
Dear Director Hollister,
I am a member of the Cryonics Institute. I need to be
assured that their services are available to me when
the time comes. Your interference with their
operations is uncalled for, represents ignorance of or
indifference to the scientific basis and the
life-saving intent of the practice, violates the
fundamental right of each individual to self-defense
and to the right to choose one's own medical care, and
violates both the freedom of religion and the
separation of church and state. On a more personal
level, setting aside the broad and egregious assault
on my human rights, it constitutes a direct threat to
my life.
The vast majority of individuals who are signed-up
with cryonics organizations are among the most
technically sophisticated people in the world. They
see the possibilities the future holds, in stark
contrast to the rest of the population of the
"civilized" world, who are almost completely ignorant
of even the basics of present day science and
technology. This is the same science and technology
which, since the time of Galileo, has struggled to
promote truth and rationality against the forces of
mysticism and prejudice. The same science and
technology and truth and rationality has given us the
very civilization we today celebrate and enjoy:
unprecedented levels of material abundance, comfort,
safety, freedom, and, to enjoy it, a healthy lifespan
two and a half times greater than the brief and
brutish span of the jungle from which science has
lifted us. Everything we are, everything we have
built proclaims that science and rationality delivers,
mysticism and prejudice destroys.
The same vast majority of people who consider cryonics
to be a sham, due so not on the basis of scientific
training, but rather on the basis of cultural
prejudices, superstition (which they call religion),
and a slavish adherence convention. Fine for them.
This is their protected right, founded on this
country's tradition of freedom of religion. No matter
the foolishness, no matter the dogma, the funny hats,
or the arcane rituals, as long as it's in the name of
some "sky Santa" (ie god), it's politically pandered
to and protected. Fine. I stand resolute in defense
of their rights. By that same standard I absolutely
require for myself the same right to personal belief
and practice. I place my faith in science and
rationality. I do not reject religion for any who
care to believe, but I most strongly protest when my
preference of science in favor of religion threatens
to make me a victim of those whose religious
prejudices conflict with my rationalist preferences.
And that is precisely what you are up to, Director
Hollister, in your present assault on the Cryonics
Institute.
I do not know if your action arises out of political
pandering to the religious majority, personal
religious prejudice, a lack of technical
sophistication, or if it is simply a bureaucratic
blunder, but you need to stop it now, and return to
looking for something socially constructive to do. I
dare say there are plenty of REAL problems out there
that could use your attention.
If you need someone to help you understand what
cryonics is about--and judging from the actions you've
taken, I'd say you do, and desperately--I offer my
assistance. But I prefer to make this "offer" more
forcefully. You are, either capriciously or in an
uninformed fashion, carrying out what amounts to a
life-threatening assault on a minority whose beliefs
differ from yours and those of the social majority.
As such, I feel entitled to require that my views be
heard in this matter. You have already violated the
legally protected rights of others. The proper course
of action now must be to cease and desist, and to make
yourself available to those who can provide you with
the information needed to understand why what you have
done is a violation of rights, and how in future to
adhere to the principle of protection rather than
violation of rights.
I am not the only person qualified too help you in
this matter, but I believe that my depth of experience
with cryonics makes me among the most skilled
proponents of the practice.
You will find my personal information below. Please
contact me as an expert in these matters--a
"cryoethicist" if you will--and notify me as to any
public hearings, commissions of inquiry, and most
importantly any legal proceedings related to this
matter.
__________________________________
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