h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm actually English. But cynical. Oh so cynical. But bang on. What the other's want is impossible, is the point at which I drive. I don't know what the first example is, but the mormons aren't utopia, especially not for women. And America's idea of Utopia differs slightly from Marx's, for example. Neither is particularly utopic, but the americans have managed to scupper many harmless and benign commie systems and allowed military nutters to step into the vacuum. But that is off the point.

Haha, Uncle Heavy, don't worry, just stay around and see what happens. By all means tell us about your misgivings. But how about just TRYING to do ONE THING to make the world a better place? Can't hurt, can it? And if it helps, it will be worth it.

Happy, you still there? About those animals: I want to include pictures and make it really interesting and informal and personal, like this;

http://www.h2g2.com/A482636

But I've been told I cannot include pictures if I want to forward my entries to Peer Review. And anyways I cannot be too informal if it's for the Edited Guide. An Utopian Wildlife Park will be a good place for these animals and I can put in a bit of interesting (hopefully) speculation about the future of Life on Earth as well. Anyways I will keep on writing formal entries as well; I'll see how things go.

Jenny, so how about it? You haven't answered yet. Can I start planning a park for the grounds around the Cafébar?

I do try. I'm constantly wracked by guilt. But I'm a realist. I know I'm not perfect, but I do my best.

I would always side with the optimists. This life seems to be something that to most intents and purpleses we can make up as we go along. My utopia would be living a happy life, harming no one, amusing myself, learning and loving and dreaming of the stars.

Carl Sagan (optimist) said that we are made of STARSTUFF. I reckon that there's energy and magic in us as well. Our physical composition is some of the atoms of the food we ate, which grew from the earth, which was composed of swirling spacedust from an exploded star. We decide how we use the energy from our food - we can choose where our feet take us, what our hands do. The magic bit is how we choose.

Choose wisely, have fun. And try not to cack things up for everyone else.

OK. Let's get down to brass tacks. What is a utopia? My old and dearly loved Webster give this, after "Utopia:" 1. A book (1516) by Sir Thomas Moore, describing an ideal commonwealth. Utopia is an imaginary island, enjoying perfection in politics, law, etc. 2. [often not cap.] Hence, any place of ideal perfection; also, an impractiable scheme of social regeneration.

I think that's a typically American definition, especially that last bit about impractical. We became used to their failures. Many schemes were attempted in the 19th century, enough to give the word a bad cannotation for us. But let's examine it just a little further. Uncle Heavy, I'm not a Morman, not even an Xtian except by birth, but I do think that a utopia could very well be defined by the willing participation of those that are involved in it. Your assumption that Mormanism is not right for women asks nothing of the women that do willingly participate in it. If a social structure, however artificial (and controversial, as the Mormans have been), does answer the needs and desires of its participants of both sexes, what prevents it from being a utopia? My point about the Mormans being a utopia in Utah was more to their history of founding a city in the barren wilderness of desert waste land, and successfully weathering the assualts of generations of mainstream Christians. That brings up another point aboout utopias: historically they are always in opposition to something. They see themselves as communities of martyrs in the modern world. Perhaps some sort of comparison to monasterial communities can be drawn here, I'm not sure.

Forgive my own view, but I can easily see any community of humans gathered in tribe, or religion, or nationality, or race, or class, or whatever definition we may use to exclude others from "our" group as a path toward utopia. Utopia is an attempt to make things perfect for "us." Thus I can link a filthy word like Hitler to a good word like utopia. Your own pessimism is well deserved here. Being humans, only the winners can put a good show on history.

As Pillow mentioned, we are star stuff. It is remarkably shortsighted of us all not to realize that. If we could, perhaps we could finally find a way to accept everyone as "us," and no longer fight and live against "them." The differences just really don't matter.

Jenny, my apologies. When you hung a shingle out front for the Utopia Cafebar, I'm sure you never imagined a bunch of guys arguing about what it meant. Next week we'll argue about the cafebar part, I promise. Thanks for your patience, and g'night all...

Phil

*Stumbles in......*

Eeeek! Philosophy......


*Hides in a corner.....*



Eeerrrr right in short.... there is no them, as they are us as we are them and we are all together...
Utopia can quite easily exist, but only on a small, almost personal scale... because what is Paradise for one, is barren for another...
And people as a whole will never create any sort of Utopia by themselves, they're generally too stupid... It boils down to an average joe who has a vision...


Right..... got any Bagels?

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Oh, you're so persuasive

*Enjoys his own personal Utopia, sitting by computer, drinking tea, listening to minidisk and munching on fresh cookies*

hee-hee.

what did i say in the intro about relentless positivity? Bring it on, you cynics and I'll put glitter in your shoes.

purplejenny

Corporations are made up of people - they are an aspect of us that we don't like (like being overwight) - the question is are we willing to go on a diet or is it easier to just to keep on eating ?

we just eat different, better stuff dude. How are you? Do u want

pj

x

Ooooo........ Glittery shoes!

Mmmm... .......

........ that reminds me, I've got this rather large bag of 's ...

Anyone fancy one

* enjoys

hows the sleeping going?

Ok... But I seem to be sleeping during the day... which is weird.... today I slept form around 10 till about 6:30.....

Errr.... what are you doing up at this time then?

err... not sleeping, I suppose.

I'm very horizontal though.

Hows the utopia thing going?

pj