Wim Nuesselder & all,
I can be a little scathing when I think something is obvious and people are
being unreasonable. It is not my intention to insult anyone but to make
them think. I freely admit that my style is very adverserial but please
don't take it personally. I only wish to root out error (IMHO). By asking
questions I am seeking to elicit you to support for your statements.
Perhaps by answering questions you will provide a argument in support that
had not occured to me or you will find your own arguments difficult to
support and deny them. I think that the Principle of Falsification is very
important and have found myself caught in it more than once. Let me provide
some answers and information to these questions.
"Don't you think that those of us from a Western culture should be free to
modify that culture to suit our needs?"
My point here is that (hopefully) we should have the foresight to keep our
social patterns of quality dynamic. We should be free to adopt patterns of
value that our intellectual patterns find valueable originating in other
cultures or create ourselves. The "pattern of use" of psychoactive
substances is the generally the determinate factor in deciding how harmful a
substance is going to be to an individual. Most people are familiar with
alcohol, a physically addicting substance, but which used in moderation has
few harmful side effects. It seems ludicrous to me to have alcohol
unprohibited, while marijuanna is classified along with PCP. Drug
prohibition laws were originally passed in the US with the sole purpose of
suppressing immigrant populations of Chinesse and Hispanics (Harrison
Nacotic Act).
"Would you call the current US government's 'War on Drugs' not relevant to
the world at large?"
I do not approve of unself regulated consumption of psychoactives substances
but that the prohibition of these substances leads to social patterns that
are worse than the problems they puport to solve. Alcohol prohibition
spawned organized crime in the US, no one disputes this. The current demand
for prohibited substances ensure that a supply will emerge and has spawned
organization even more ruthless than the gangsters of the twenties. Putting
peaceful non-violent individuals in prison with murders and rapist is a
morally absurd. Furthermore the application of these laws falls
dispoportionately on the poor.
Additionally I think that I (my intellectual pattern) owns my body
(biological pattern) and that the state (social pattern) should not
interfere if I decide to modify it or experiment with it's function. Should
the social pattern interfere if my intellectual pattern values eatting
excess sugary foods or not exercising regularly? I think not. This premiss
opens the door for complete domination of the intellect by social which
according to the MoQ is immoral.
(Does anyone really believe our civilyzation would have been well served by
incarcerating Robert Pirsig for his attendance at the Native American
Church? I believe this is a felony in the US)
"Do you think it reasonable to compare two experiences, one of which you ...
admit to never having experienced?"
Trying to describe a psycheldic experience, particullarly LSD or mescaline,
to someone who has never directly experienced it is like trying to describe
Dynamic quality (Or sight to the blind). You just can't do it and any
effort is at best a very poor analogy. I'm not adovcating everyone
dropping acid, but I do find it odd that people insist on passing judgement
on the experience who have never experienced it.
"Would you say that Psychedelic music was not a static pattern of value?"
The only point here was that the experience of drug use can produce
intellectual patterns of elegance and beauty.
Sincerely,
AreteLaugh or Glen
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