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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

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rshow55 - 07:01pm Apr 4, 2003 EST (# 11101 of 11119)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

It seems to me that if people thought a little about how wonderful and surprisingly orderly and beautiful the world is - and had a little discipline - we might be able to control some of the most painful and monotonously ugly things that are also, in their way, surprising.

Without being any smarter than we are.

At a time when people are afraid, when violent death and injury are happening, some wonderful writing from the editorial staff of this paper might be worth another look.

. Peace on Earth http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/25/opinion/25WED1.html

I think that editorial is a masterpiece of humane and religious feeling - entirely respectful of religion, and all open-minded religious traditions.

To get closer to peace - some better understanding of what it is to be a human being might not hurt, in a few spots. Some parts of that understanding are technical.

One basic fact, perhaps, most of all. It is both technical and moral:

To check anything about the real world - we have to actually make contact with the real world. And find ways to specify that contact clearly enough that we can find out, from the world, whether our ideas match reality of whether they don't. Often, it takes discipline, honesty, and work to have any idea whether out notions match the world or not.

I've posted the sermon, WHEN THE FOUNDATIONS ARE SHAKING by James Slatton http://www.mrshowalter.net/sermon.html more than a hundred times on this thread.

8678-79 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.cyI5a69f6m6.576250@.f28e622/10204 refers to president Bush's religious confidence, which many clergymen find misplaced, and shows many of those links.

1527-8 http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee7b2bd/1694

One fact, it seems to me, ought to be evident to anyone who has ever spent much time around religious people, including religious professionals. It is that the average clergyman is not, can't be expected to be, very much stronger, or intellectually or morally more resiliant, than other average professionals. The very best clergymen can't be expected to be very much wiser or brighter or more resistant to social pressures than top-of-the line members of other professionals can reasonably be expected to be, unless you believe that God is touching their minds at every step in their thinking.

Looking at their output - that seems unlikely.

Both followers of Islam and Christians ought to consider that.

If they did - they might find they have less less to fight about - less to feel "certain" about - and more that they should feel responsible to work out for themselves, and the people they have to care about.

almarst2003 - 09:16pm Apr 4, 2003 EST (# 11102 of 11119)

Could it be the "clergyman" and "religious or spiritual man" are not always the same? As there is difference between rituals abd sensations. The rituals are designed to awake sensations. But sensations should be ready amd alive. The rituals are useless when sensations are dead. In my view, all sensations are like resonanse vibrations responding to specific activities like visual imagination, poetry or music.

The nature of resonance is directly connected to the quality of resonator - the most basic foundation of what I call the culture which reflects the genetic history, developemnt stage of individual and existing environment.

This in turn affects the particular selection/qualification of sensations and future fine-tunes the awakening mechanism.

Among the fundamental sensations are "sense of beauty" and "sense of duty". Both of which are uniquely reflected in a "Golden Rule".

And here, as I have pointed out many times, we have a major disagreement in interpretation. What follows is that we might have a significant difference in one or both of mentioned above most critical senses.

jorian319 - 09:24pm Apr 4, 2003 EST (# 11103 of 11119)

The nature of resonance is directly connected to the quality of resonator ...

I will take that as a comforting indicator of the genesis of your overall pessimism.

almarst2003 - 09:33pm Apr 4, 2003 EST (# 11104 of 11119)

Indeed, we have quite a different reaction to act of war. And we have a different reaction to the fact of agression of superpower against small and weak nation. We must have a very different basic cultural and moral foundations. If that's comforting to you, so it be.

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