On the eve of a third nation (China) attaining the capability to send people into space - tomorrow (Wed.) http://www.spacedaily.com/dragonspace.html
From... http://www.spacedaily.com/news/oped-03zzk.html The Problems in Thinking about Humans and Space by Mathew Faulk Los Angeles - Oct 13, 2003 [snip] Humanity, in some respect, has come to extend beyond the world or planet from which humanity itself arose, and from which the world view that is unique to this worldly existence arose. There is an aspect of human society that is beginning to flow out beyond this planet in both physical existence and in thinking, and both in manners unique to this era. In physical existence humans have now come to explore reality beyond the earth, into space and the surrounding cosmos. We have embarked upon the journey of space exploration, exploring reality beyond the terrestrial. This is manifest in, and manifests the presence of, people in space and social behaviors that extend beyond only a worldly end or intention. There are now substantial aspects of human life that are being directly confronted with this phenomenon. Human society must contend with, move out into keeping within the mind the consciousness of, the universe beyond the planet and the activity going on there. [snip] But the human person has always looked to the heavens: in astrology, astronomy, maritime navigation, Newton's calculus, Galileo's heavenly revolution, Aristotle, Plato, Chinese Zodiac and on. The stars have always been within our view. [snip] No system is absolutely risk free, or absolutely safe, there must be a limit. Regulation and legislation must consider this. [snip] Like food and eating, or physical function, humans also share the common sky, look at stars, and have a cultural tradition somewhere revolving around and dealing with space. Perhaps now we are more able to start looking into these commonalities. Perhaps humans will not unite down here on earth, but will do so in space, after we get off this rock, yet to return and establish or begin a new area in human existence. Moreover, we live in a global world, yet only a handful of people have actually ever seen it, the globe. The global community is, therefore, not yet a village. There are still far off lands, and peoples who are not oriented to a global humanity. This is because we are not yet acting like a fully global humanity. ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
