Message-ID: <51792E5D4B6ED011B7DB00805FBE3836040EC0D1@xch-evt-06.ca.boeing.com>
From: "Van Zant, Peter J" <Peter.VanZant@PSS.Boeing.com>
To: PROGRESSIVE POPULATION NETWORK <ppn@csf.colorado.edu>,
        "'eglaze@vsta.com'" <eglaze@vsta.com>
Subject: RE: coercion, sterilization, culling
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 07:12:29 -0800
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


> ----------
> From: 	Ed Glaze III[SMTP:eglaze@vsta.com]
> Sent: 	Monday, November 23, 1998 3:19 PM
> To: 	PROGRESSIVE POPULATION NETWORK
> Subject: 	Re:  coercion, sterilization, culling
> 
> It is true that I have strayed into considering the overall environment as
> more important than human rights. In the big picture I feel that it is.
> The
> ecological devastation we are causing will come back to haunt us and
> debating human rights will not be a luxury we can afford. So few are
> willing to speak for nature or even acknowledge that humans are not
> living as we should upon this planet. Just because we can exploit
> everything around us, including our fellow humans, does not mean we
> must. Or that we must continue to do so.
> 
> 
I snipped most of this to highlight one part of the discussion, which I
think is critical. I do get anxious when I read some of the things you say
because I see them as feeding the arguments of those who would like to do
away with the population stabilization movement entirely. Give them an
excuse to call us "racist, sexist, elitist, totalitarian, anti-human,
anti-freedom," they will do so. Furthermore, taking away freedoms, even for
the best of causes, is a serious matter. Once you take them away, it's very
difficult to ever get them back. A totalitarian future is not something I
look forward to, maybe destroying the species would be better. I truly
believe we'd wipe ourselves out before we totally destroyed life on this
planet.

However, I'm still hopeful that there's a middle ground between
totalitarianism and eco-catastrophe. I do hope to move ZPG into a more
activist position than it seems to want to take at this time, although the
prospects seem dim at times. I also believe that, if you want to change
people or society, do it incrementally. I know you think we can't wait, but
review some of your history of Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union under Stalin
before you take curtailment of freedom lightly.

One incremental change which I intend to start making noise about is to cut
off the $2700/per child icome tax exemption after two children--maybe make
it $1350 for the second one. That's not coercing people not to have
children, although some people will take it as such. It's merely declining
to subsidize more than replacement fertility.