Starting anew (was satellite refueling and menstruation)

I believe what will happen is people will be able to move freely.

If a person is born in a community he or she does not like they may
pack up their things and move. Space will provide humanity ample
opportunities.

However I would be very careful over using the Puritans as a mark to
measure unpleasant societies. Studies reveal that the Puritans lived
a strict spartan spiritual life but they were not monks and nuns.
They lived by strict moral rules. Within those rules they played the
game of life quite well. Indeed they probably the best group to have
if one wished a party. It would be well organized and quite safe.
Definately would not be a drunken orgy.

At the same time societies like those tend to grow quite well. One
need only look to the early Christian history. During the Roman
persecutions the decadent and highly 'tolerant' Romans did everything
they could to wipe Christianity out but despite their best efforts
Christianity thrived. Besides a high birthrate there was a great
conversion. One Roman joked for every Christian they tossed to the
lions Ten of the audience would become inspired converts.

Indeed during the 1830s and 40s in the Northern US there were a
number of Communes developing bizar sexual ideas that are quite the
rage among the left today. 'Bible Communists' they called themselves.
They promoted concreception and 'free love'. Many were committed
vegetarians. Some refused to eat any root plant that grew in the
ground like carots and beats and potatos saying they lead the soul in
the wrong direction prefuring plants like corn and beans that reached
to the heavens. All refused to wear cotton that was grown by slaves.
Refused to wear leather or wool since it was taken from animals.
Women wore trousers to show their 'equality'. Some were actual
nudists.

Southerners made great use of them for propoganda purposes to denouce
the North as iferior to them. (Never bothered to mention there were
plenty of communities just like them in the south, little things
called Plantations).

By the Civil war they had all faded. Love, Intimate relationships and
venerial disease wiped them out. Their ideas resurfaced generations
later.

Perhaps decadence isn't what it's cracked up to be.

I suspect man when he moves into space will make similar advances.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "Don Davis"
>
> --- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, Douglas May wrote:
> >
> > Been reading all these posts about abortion and such, wondering
what
> > it has to do with space settlement, but on a deep level, morality
is
> > a crucial topic for us.
>
> The divisions in the world views of different societies even within
> countries are thus well illustrated, reinforcing the need to have
the
> ability for this or that group of crusaders to have hope for
starting
> anew with cultures taylored to their needs.
>
> > If it is a free and open settlement, it is inevitable that there
> will be abortionists and antiabortionists on board. There will be
gays
> and antigays. There will be smokers and antismokers, and so on. Just
> like here, they will have to come together and find a solution that
> they can live with without resorting to violence. The problem is, in
> space -snip-
>
> Alas, not all space colonies will be freedom loving, some will be
> experiments in freedom while others will be or become oppressive
> Spartan communities. There will be colonies run by Islamic and
> Christian fundamentalists, and others with freedom loving Burning
Man
> and Height Ashbury type experiments in new societies. If you are
born
> into a horrible Puritan like church police state too bad, hopefully
a
> few such people will upon growing up be rebellious enough to want to
> leave.
>
> > Also in space, because you'll have a smaller statistical sample
> > population in each settlement (in the thousands instead of
millions)
> > it will be easier for one side to gain control and force the
other
> > side to comply. There is a real possibility then that transfer
of
> > power will be by violence.
>
> An Iranian style Shia type Islamic space colony could drive a
> portion of their youth, who secretly learn that there are other
better
> colonies through illegal outside contact, into a violent
revolution.
> Probably guns would be absent, although the cops may well be an
> exception since all oppressed need oppressors. Allowing everyone
> access to deadly weapons could make such governments fear the
people,
> instead of the other way around. Someone with a bomb next to the
space
> colony windows would really get the attention of the local dictator!
> If some Nazi like oppression were to hold thousands or millions
> against their will, things could get messy. Once in a while a colony
> would be destroyed from within due to internal civil wars, spreading
> debris and bodies through their region. Some experiments in new
> societies will be failures.
>
> > Even if a settlement is peopled only by like-minded individuals
who
> > all agree, it is inevitable that in future generations
dissenters
> > will arise.
>
> Part of the business of space colonies is to replicate new
colonies.
> This is a vital part of the process, allowing the inevitable
> dissenters and oppressed to fill their own real estate aand give
their
> former oppressors the 'finger'.
> The hope of having a chance to get away from the baggage of
outdated
> moral, political and religious based fascism is the greatest thing
> space migration offers to Humanity. Society is a kind of living
thing
> which evolves as things change. Let those who yearn for strict
> oppressive theocracies assume the role of unchanging cockroaches in
> the evolutionary approach to civilization if they wish.
> It is better to see how many approaches to living and solving
> problems common to all can be explored, with unexpected results
likely
> to emerge. Not all such experiments will work, just as few mutations
> work for the better in this or that species, but evolution has taken
> life to the point where beings capable of assuming god like
overviews
> of their own situations can emerge. Societies can collectively do
the
> same, with responsability for the results largely in their hands.
>
> Don Davis
>
> (sent but didn't appear, sent again...if it comes up twice my
apologies!)