New Member Forum: Spacesettlers
Thread: New Member
# 566 bycapcartoonist@... on Nov. 11, 2004, 1:54 p.m.
Member since 2021-10-03
"Collin R. Skocik" wrote:
having no frontiers left to conquer has put us in quite a kerfuffle.>
I went into this argument at length on the Orion's Arm message board. There
will always be a need for a Frontier, even in OA's nanotopia. Wanderlust,
boredom, frustration.... Not to mention the poverty that drove Europeans
out into the world, and continues to send people to America even today.
Amercians, however, have no frontiers (currently) and are forced to stew in
their own juices. IMO, one of the reasons for the upswing in teenage
suicides.
Every healthy, living being or culture needs to grow. When growth ceases,
stagnation sets in. And then decay. For a really good example of this, I
present you with the later Ming Dynasty and its sucesssor the Ching Dynasty
of the Manchu. China stagnated, and was superceded by Europe. Then it
fragmented under pressure. A civilization that was the most populous,
wealthiest, most innovative and most influential on the face of the planet
for 1800 years lost its number one spot in less than a century. Three
generations to go from number one and into the toilet.
Anyway, my $0.02 worth.
That concludes today's history lesson. Quiz on Friday. ;)