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I suspect, Ladyoflight...
That wherever humankind goes throughout the Universe, conflict will follow. One of the things space travel will give us is the ability to go somewhere to be "special." I envision small colonies all over the Asteroid Belt consisting of splinter groups from every religious faction you can imagine. I envision the Human Race balkanizing in a way that has never happened before, with a diversification of point of view to the point of ridiculousness. If we ever discover another intelligent species, I see one human faction aligning with that species against other human factions...
In other words, I see humans expanding into space in exactly the way humans expanded around the globe, always with self-interest at the forefront, and without consideration for what might be best for the race. In fact, I suspect that this "instinct for diversification" is at the heart of what makes us go there in the first place. We may well find a similar pattern in whomever we meet out there. It may be, in fact, that intelligent species are driven not so much by race identification as a much narrower group identification. Space faring allows virtually any group to find a niche to grow and prosper.
But peace...I don't think it will ever be a part of the equation.
posted by
arGee
on September 26, 2007 at 6:01 AM
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Re: Don't forget, Soul Builder...
I concur.... then....can we make peace on another planet ?
posted by
ladyoflight
on September 25, 2007 at 8:33 PM
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I suspect, Xeno...
That we might have been much farther along the route to being a fully space-faring race had government not played such a large role in the initial stages.
posted by
arGee
on September 25, 2007 at 12:50 PM
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but our govt needs to get behind it more
making sure we do our share with the space station to expand it to better capabilities,
and developing a means of transportation past the shuttle.
and being more careful with the shuttle to avoid disasters.
less funds to NASA is probably responsible for their problems.
and I would put forth that the first disaster was caused by being in too much of a hurry and trying to put too many shuttles up in too short a period of time with pressure from the military.
from about 14 missions a year to having to put the program on hold.
and the international effort is the best thing to happen to this Earth in a long time.
posted by
Xeno-x
on September 25, 2007 at 8:54 AM
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Don't forget, Soul Builder...
That if the Islamofascists prevail, there will be no science, no space program, virtually none of anything we value. We can't afford not to spend the money in Iraq right now. I wish it were different!
posted by
arGee
on September 25, 2007 at 8:40 AM
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arGee
Very interesting! I now see how the billions spent in Iraq could be better utilized!
posted by
Soul_Builder101
on September 24, 2007 at 6:14 PM
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