Terry,
Nope. Chuck and I agree, it's merely a question of "food or pets". Mr. Fort thinks "property" either way.
Hmm... I think that "food" is out, clearly... or else why would any superior race have not intervened and done something sooner about the way we are poisoning the planet... they do not want that poison in their future diet, any more than we do....
...and "pets" well... that idea is clearly out also, as the last thing that you want in a pet is the born-to-be-free streak - and ingrained genetic trait we see in the "Tim McVie" and "Eric Rudolf" mold. Not sure that Paul Revere was all that different. McVie might be a hero, or saint, eventually had not there been a kindergarten in session then, unknown to him. Americans don't mind a patriot killing a few dozen G-men in pursuit of the goal of freedom, but they will hang the child-murderer in a heartbeat.
I think the key is not even "property" or "calories" (Matrix) ... but instead, it is certainly "insurance" in the broadest sense - which is the real answer, but not the complete answer ... as that term involves perhaps a realization of what we stand for (i.e what is the guiding principle) that the USA "means" in terms of its impact to other sentient beings, who may not have even known about it in their own evolution - and what could that one feature be that our culture "really" stands-for and what is the one-and-only place in the world, and maybe the nearby universe ;-) ...where it is practiced and encouraged to any small extent at all - and it is NOT democracy - Ha. We have less of that than ever before.
No - instead, the guiding principle we have found here is one surprising a factor that perhaps it may itself have been absent in older civilizations than ours - as certainly the "meme" took way too long to mature. That principle is **diversity** And that is even true, despite the fact we barely have scratched the surface as to implementing full diversity here, but maybe as slight as that advance is here, it is a an entirely new meme - even to the aliens and Overlords... Are you listening, Valis?
That's my 'alienist' sermonette for this beautiful Sunday... Jones
