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- From: dz573@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Andreas Mueller)
- Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
- Subject: The Theory of Non-Interference Supported
- Date: 23 Apr 1994 09:32:19 GMT
- Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
- Lines: 133
- Message-ID: <2papv3$rdg@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
- Reply-To: dz573@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Andreas Mueller)
- NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu
-
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- The Theory of Non-Interference
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- The Prime Directive:
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-
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- Within the next five hundred years, we will have made
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- major advances in space technology, the possibility of our
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- coming into contact with other species will grow. Such first
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- contact must be carefully regulated, for we do not wish to
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- repeat the mistakes of our Ancestors. Right here on Earth,
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- failed first contacts and diplomatic procedures, have led to
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- long and devastating wars. We must establish a protocol, a
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- moral code which can be used universally.
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- For such a policy to be universal, it must take into
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- account all possible beliefs and governments. To do so is
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- impossible. Therefore I propose that we abide by a Theory of
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- Non-Interference, such as the one featured in Paramount
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- Picture's "Star Trek: The Next Generation." The theory is
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- one of peace. It dictates that we as a people have no right
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- to interfere with, or judge other races and peoples. I
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- believe that if our governments had used foreign policy like
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- this, many international wars could have been avoided. It is
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- quintessential that a species is allowed to live its life
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- without outside interference. For as has been proven with
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- the environment, tampering can lead to devastation of a
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- species.
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-
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- Scenario 1: In order to prove the worth of the Theory
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- of Non-Interference, we must create a scenario. Let's say
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- that a few years from now, aliens come to Earth. These
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- aliens do not like the way our governments handle things and
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- just change them to fit their own moral standards. To use
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- the colloquial English, that would suck.
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- Scenario 2: Aliens come and give us their technology.
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- This may sound great, but it really is detrimental. Such a
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- rapid advance in technology, with so little understanding of
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- how it works could only harm us. We would become dependent
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- on a technology which we cannot recreate, and do not full
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- understand. Humanity would increasingly tend to become a
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- torpid race. The detrimental effects of such a change are
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- clearly illustrated in the example of Native Americans. Part
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- of their demise was European technology. With the riffle
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- they could hunt buffalo much more efficiently, but also at
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- an increased rate. Soon, the Native Americans who had the
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- riffles were found themselves with an ever decreasing amount
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- of buffalo. The near extinction of the buffalo was the
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- finishing blow to that culture. The Native Americans had
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- become dependent on the Europeans.
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- Scenario 3: The aliens come to earth during the middle
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- ages, or the early stages of civilization. The reaction on
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- earth would be mass hysteria, as shown by Orson Wells' "War
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- of the Worlds" scare. Some peoples may even go so far as to
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- worship the aliens due to their seemingly "magical" powers.
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- Even in this case, the effect on our culture is detrimental.
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-
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- As we venture into space, we must keep these facts in
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- mind. For by even just making our presence known, we are
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- taking away a culture's right to develop naturally. Unless
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- specifically addressed by the people, we should not make our
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- presence known. And unless we are specifically asked for
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- help, we have no right to interfere in the lives of a
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- culture. Unless we adhere strictly to this policy, we are
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- bound to repeat what the Europeans did to the Native
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- Americans, the total annihilation of a culture.
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-
-
- -Andreas Mller
- --
- - Andreas Mueller
- mueller@shadowso.com
-
-