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AHHH......a voice of reason.  My only argument to Diane's philosophic 
discussion is this:  We are incredibly better off than we were 150 years 
ago, much less 5,000.  Whenever I think about the simplicities and joys of 
life 150 years ago (I always felt I was born 100 years too late), I also 
think about the marvels of modern medicine that no only allows us to live 
longer, but live healthier.  We can diagnose and treat problems that would 
have felled people by age 45 back then.  We can deal with pain in ways that 
were impossible back then.  And while some aspects of modern life are 
confusing and complicated, we can choose to avoid a great many of those, if 
we so desire.  We can walk instead of driving, we can do hard physical work 
instead of using machines....we don't HAVE to have or use all the modern 
so-called conveniences.  However, look at us, using computers and phones to 
write messages back and forth.  I like some of the modern inventions, and 
despise others.  I do have a choice.  And to tie this in with endurance, 
modern medical and nutritional discoveries also keep our horses healthy and 
living longer, too.  Riding takes us back to simpler times, and I think that 
is one of its great redeeming factors. Off my philosophical soapbox 
now.............
Thanks, Diane, for your voice of reason.

Barbara



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Diane Trefethen" <tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <Ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 8:49 AM
Subject: Re: [RC] Cloning horse


> Something I like to do when emotionally stirred to jump on any bandwagon, 
> especially one proclaiming that the sky is falling, is to try to view the 
> question from as truly a dispassionate position as possible.
>
> Every era has its changes.  Since the beginning of recorded history, 
> humans have invoked the wrath of the Gods with their presumptuousness. For 
> every profound new thought, for every stroke of genius, for every step 
> away from the past, there have been foretellers of doom.  Histories of the 
> rebelliousness of youth written in ancient Latin speak as clearly to the 
> issues of emerging into adulthood today as they did then.  The Spanish 
> Inquisition tortured and killed people who spoke of different ideas and 
> the witches of Salem fared no better.  That Earth was not the center of 
> the universe was blasphemy, electricity was magic, hypnotism was Satanic 
> demonism and in the 1950's, it was widely held that the discovery and 
> implementations of our then current understanding of atomic theory would 
> lead us directly into WW III and totally wipe out all life.
>
> And yet... we are still here.  Better than just still here, we are 
> incredibly better off than was humanity 5000 years ago.  While many bemoan 
> the cruelties and avarice of segments of today's world, consider... all 
> the real problems facing us... hunger, disease, early death, hatred, 
> cruelty... are old, not new.  The difference is that once virtually ALL of 
> us were at the mercy of these tortures while now, through our 
> presumptuousness, billions of us live in a world where we are comfortable 
> enough to take time to appreciate life, explore the known and the unknown, 
> think, dream, play.
>
> Is the future safe and assured?  Will Islamic Jihad triumph? Will the 
> Internet ever be safe?  Will cloning become a "normal" method of 
> reproduction? We don't know.  But if we step back and ask ourselves if, in 
> the grand scheme of things, have we overcome frightening new concepts and 
> put them to use for the betterment of our world, I think the answer is yes 
> and that suggests that our current dilemmas, as threatening as they are, 
> present us with yet more opportunies for a better world.
>
>
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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

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