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The following first appeared in the private email list IVy-subscribers,
which was available to all those who subscribed to the
printed magazine, International Viewpoints.
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The heart of darkness (Part 2)
By Phil Spickler
21 Feb 99
To pick up the thread, metaphorically speaking, and in order to avoid
a case of acute boredom for those who read these foolish words, I
shall confine my remarks about automobiles and computers, and their
effects upon those who would use them, to the following.
One of the unfailing abilities of Homo sapiens, a species more or
less devoted to survival, is the ability to make a weapon out of just
about anything, and to find ways to cause harm to others. This
ability has given Homo sap a bad reputation in some parts of the
universe and suggests that those who people this planet may be under
the influence of much earlier events in histories that to some degree
are being recreated and dramatized right here on our favorite
mudball.
So I guess what I'm trying to say in my own feeble way is that things
like cars and computers, aside from restimulating real or imagined
histories on a real or imagined time track, offer an unaccustomed
freedom and power, possibly even an undeserved dose of the same, that
could quickly lead to misuse, especially if there's any truth to the
notion that power corrupts. As previously mentioned, poor Prometheus,
who first brought fire to the people of Earth, against the judgment
of wiser heads, was condemned to be chained to a rock and have his
self-regenerating liver eaten out each day. We even know from the
likes of the Star Trek series that Standing Order 1 for
interplanetary expeditions is Not to Affect the Lives of the
inhabitants of a given planet by offering them any form of technology
that is beyond what they currently possess. In spite of this we keep
seeing intergalactic travelers dropping in to Earth, by accident or
on purpose, and offering the natives everything from poison gas and
machine guns to telephones, hydrogen bombs, and even the solid-state
mind analogy called a computer. All these wondrous additions to
Earth, including the automobile, have been touted as great wonders
that are definitely leading to a better Earth. That may even be true
-- however, the downside to giving ignorant savages more and better
ways to attack and harm all those perceived to be enemies, which is
to say anyone who is different, may not actually be improving the
quality of life on Ye Olde Planet.
But enough of these maunderings! It is my earnest hope that some of
the better and brighter minds that flirt with the IVy list will, with
grace and humor, further comment on these matters that I have given
such shallow attention to. In Part 3 of this piece, it is my hope to
talk about Wilhelm Gottfried Leibniz and the amazing piece of
philosophy he came up with called Monadology, which Roy of IGT fame
has mentioned more than once.
Leibniz was one of the people that Ron Hubbard listed in the front of
_Science of Survival_ that were acknowledged as valuable sources who
helped lead to the creation of Dianetics and ultimately Scientology.
More to follow on this, and I'm sure that you will be amazed to see
just how far Leibniz got in his penetration of the mystery. I'd also
like to propose a new contest for anyone tuning in to the IVy list,
which goes like this: it has been said that the only two crimes in
this universe are being there and communicating. It has also been
said that under the rights of the thetan, or human being,
(fundamental rights that is; I'm avoiding the use of the word "basic"
here, since I agree it has been worked to the point where it doesn't
mean anything anymore), are the right to die and the right to be
insane. Please send your entries to the IVy list in the form of
essays on one or both of these topics, hopefully 250 words or much
less. There will be 3 first-place prizes in each category, and the
decision of the judge or judges will be final. I'm currently looking
around for some good judges; however, judges may enter this contest
also, just to keep it spicy.
Until next we meet,
Phil the Phool