eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (02/24/86)
Sometimes, reading this net is like listening to the converted
preaching to themselves. We take ourselves, pretty seriously
at times. Mr. Fine raised several good points and I've read
several interesting responses. What did offend me was the way that
several people jumped all over him after ignoring his disclaimer.
I do not propose jumping all over those people.
The real waste happens when all that fingers went up and down.
Permit me to relate a little story. The time was January 1970
when I presented a report on the future of going into space to
a junior high history class. This was some months after the
moon landing (remember that?). I had a lot of flack because I
had believed in space: many of my friends wanted to feed the poor or
end the war in Nam (all noble goals). A lot of the flack was the
type Mr. Fine brought up.
Someone pointed out this is done every year before Congress.
Rather than just archive tis stuff to tape. Why don't some of the
readers of the space digest put together a document of the
most asked questions (something like posted to net.general
or was it net.announce?) with some simple answers?
You know someone is going to raise Mr. Fine's questions again in the
future.
It was be a nice gesture of some good writer on the net could
remove the real flames, and collect the justifications posted.
Who know's, someone may have a son or daughter who gets a class
assignment on justifications for space. This could help.
A series of these summary documents could be a unifying theme
behind a network memory rather than have the network consist of
mere flames. Perhaps, such a document could be the next justifcation
to appear before Congress? We could certainly post it every few months
for revision and those uninterested can delete from mail or type
'n' on news software.
I plead "conflict-of-interest" as well as "too busy." Volunteers?
For the other person who asked why everybody wants to leave
earth: there is certainly a matter of preference here. What
I am concern with we leave our egos at the door when we leave
this planet.
--eugene miya
NASA Ames Research Center
{hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,decwrl,allegra}!ames!aurora!eugene
eugene@ames-nas.ARPA
author of that well known cook book
"To Serve Martians"
;-)