Tom, Tom, Tom...

You know, most of the time, I think that we see eye-to-eye on things -- and indeed, I'm *very* happy to see NASA getting re-involved in nuclear power and propulsion -- but I'm afraid that I've got to take you to task on this one:

"Their goal is not preserving the environment, it is the destruction of capitalism, technology, and industry, and the promotion of socialism."

Tom, you're absolutely wrong, and by writing this, you're engaging in your own brand of virulently imaginative propaganda, not unlike theirs. I know that you specified "Environmentalist wackos" rather than merely "Environmentalists," but even then, you're absolutely wrong. First, it must be said that the vast majority of environmentalists, in my experience, are entirely rational people, who place a high priority on preserving the environment. For the most part, this is for entirely *human* reasons -- they want their grandchildren to enjoy at least as good a quality of life as they do, and the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity is therefore imperative. These are the *sane* environmentalists, and I am proud to count myself among them.

Of course, there are environmentalist wackos. Wackos can and do emerge under the guise of *any* philosophy, but I've had the displeasure of engaging, quite personally, with many such "environmentlists". And I can tell you this: they do not have an agenda that is ANYTHING like you describe. What you describe is an utter farce, really -- do you honestly think they're devil-horned creatures, willfully hellbent on destroying everything that's good (civilization) and promoting everything that's bad (socialism)? If so, you've been taking B-movie villians WAY too seriously. *Nobody* is motivated by "goals" like that. Nobody.

No, the wackos are motivated by something far more primal and unreasoning: fear, pure and simple. They don't HAVE an evil conspiratorial agenda like you imply -- they simply fear EVERYTHING, and want it to stop. Period. Whatever "it" is. And yes, this is stupid, and these guys annoy the #^(& out of me, and I argue with them all the time. So why am I getting upset about you dissing them? Because by tarring them with this almost comically innacurate brush, you're doing NOTHING to combat that fear. In fact, you (and others who have done this) are probably making it worse.

The fear is born of one thing, and one thing only: ignorance. In many, this ignorance can be cured, and I am pleased to say that I've educated many people in this regard. In others, it's hopeless: they'll jealously guard their ignorance to the last. Nothing that can be done about them -- but frankly, they tend to marginalize themselves fairly quickly, anyways. In either case, slapping them with utterly false labels like "socialist" will do NOTHING to allay their ignorance, and will probably harden their resolve. Furthermore, it will give them a certain amount of ammunition, because they then have proof that their opponents are unthinking planet-hating reactionary members of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. Which will make the distrust and ignorance grow deeper, and the fear grow larger.

Unfortunately for us, "fear" is a lot easier to sell than "knowledge." But we MUST do the latter, becuase like it or not, these issues WILL be tried in the court of public opinion. So we must take the opportunity to promote knowledge, wherever possible. Step number one is creating an environment which is more amenable to rational conversation, which means abstaining from stupid sophistries like calling everyone you disagree with a "socialist".

Sorry, Tom -- you're catching the brunt of a LOT of frustration that's been building up, and most of it has absolutely nothing to do with you. This really ought to be addressed to the Mark Reiffs and Ed Wrights of the world -- people whose level of reactionary rhetoric has TOTALLY sabotaged their ability to dialog with ANYONE who is even slightly to the left of them, which is pretty much everyone. This is far too common in the space community, to our considerable detriment, and I've put up with it for too long. But please be assured that I have no particular gripe with you.

Anyhow, getting back to the subject we love: hooray for the hopefully impending nuclearization of space! Now, let's just do it sanely, and promote it with dignity and reason.

Cheers,

Nathan.

P.S.: Oh, and I just got back from India, so now I actually have the time to write lengthy rants like this...