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Posted by Kris Krieger on January 28, 2008, 5:05 pm
>
>> Remember the post he made one time about water?
>> Man, almost made me get all misty eyed.
>> The boy could write some stuff when he set his mind to it.
>> Only once did I ever see him step, outside the boudaries of
>> *professionalism* in his writings, the oldtimers know what I'm
>> talking about.
>> And it was but a minor consideration considering the topic of the
>> thread twist. heh
>>
>
> This one?
> ---------------------------------
Is thre any collection of his writings? I seem to recall he'd written a
book or two; I cna check that, but does anyone know of anything else? He
had a great many intrersting and IMO excellent thoughts, and expressed
them very well and often beautifully...
> Greetings to all here in alt.architecture.
>
> I have been generally disgusted by much of the recent content of the
> group, ...especially the cross-posts from some rather odd
> newsgroups...so I've stayed out of it. However, I finally decided that
> I have an obligation to express my opinion....welcome or not. In
> doing so, I am not trying to convince anyone to agree with
> me....simply trying to give balance to some rather bizarre points of
> view.
>
>
> I am also going to criticize the beliefs of a long-time poster to this
> group, something I generally try to avoid. However, I feel quite
> strongly that my friend ghost-sniper has made too many hostile
> comments against civilization as a whole, including obnoxious and
> uncalled-for personal attacks on anyone with whom he disagrees, and
> that these cannot go unchallenged. For the record, those of you who
> have followed this group in recent years will recall that I have on
> several occasions defended his right to express his opinions here, and
> I will continue to do so. Ghost-sniper has often contributed useful
> observations on construction and the business of building, and I hope
> he will continue to do so. I will not enter into personal attacks, and
> I prefer to think that he will reply in kind....but that is his choice
> to make.
>
>
> First....as to the notion that each of us is responsible only to him
> or her self....this is ridiculous. From the earliest dawn of homo
> sapiens, we are a species that has done its best by working in
> groups...whether for hunting, gathering, agriculture, industry or
> whatever. Isolated individuals who have no support from or interaction
> with a group do not drive pick-up trucks and live in gated
> communities. I assume that every penny that ghost-sniper possesses
> has been earned by honest work...but within a larger economic system
> that generates wealth. Outside of that system, life would be quite
> different.
>
>
> The original meaning of the word "civilization" is the art of living
> in cities....the art by which a large group of people organize
> themselves in order to get along and flourish in a large and complex
> society. Of course, there are cultures in which this level of
> complexity never arises...those that operate at the level of small
> bands, tribes or villages. When everyone is inter-related, or when the
> group is so small that everyone knows everyone else, the system of
> governance can be quite simple. However, once the scale increases to
> include large numbers of people who are unknown to each other and who
> live in different places, the mechanisms that work for governing a
> small group simply do not function. They must be enhanced by larger
> governmental organizations such as states or nations.
>
>
> Now some will say that this is a mistake, and that there should be no
> government larger than a village, similar to the type of community
> effort ghost-sniper described in his description of his gated
> community. Those who live in the United States and who hold this
> opinion are entitled to express them....but I will only respect their
> honesty after they have done the following, all of which are the
> actions of a national government:
>
>
> 1. Leave the territory of the United States since you consider
> the national government and economic system illegitimate and do not
> wish to be tainted by any of the benefits of living here.
> 2. With your friends, find some un-built-upon land and either
> purchase it...without using dollars, which is the currency from our
> supposedly corrupt national economic system backed by the national
> government...or fight a war of conquest to win it, and then seek
> recognition as a state by the world community...or prepare yourselves
> for ongoing military actions by those who do not recognize your claim
> to the land. (The land should be unimproved if you want to prove your
> point of self-sufficiency...otherwise you would be taking advantage of
> the efforts of others which would completely negate your ideas).
> 3. Build your community any way you wish....providing the
> infrastructure
> you desire of roads, ports, airports, water systems, water treatment
> systems, etc.
> 4. Support yourselves any way you wish...but if you wish to sell
> services or goods to citizens of other countries, including the US,
> you will need to develop treaties and request visas. If you prefer
> piracy, that is your right, although you will thereby prove your
> dependence on the efforts of others and must again prepare yourself
> for the military response of other nations.
> 5. Develop your own currency and try to win its acceptance and
> confidence in world markets.
> 6. Attempt to attract foreign investments if you wish to live
> beyond the
> level of subsistence.
> 7. Develop whatever system of justice, policing, etc. you
> choose...and your own system to prevent attack or abuse by criminal
> elements. 8. Develop your own education system, assuming you
> expect your experiment to survive more than one generation.
> 9. Do all this without the support of any national government,
> since you
> do not respect national governments and have repeatedly said that you
> do not want any help from anyone.
>
>
> Then write us and tell us about your new state....then I will listen,
> but not before.
>
>
> The fact is that ghost-sniper is benefiting enormously by living in
> this country under its system of government, economics and
> taxation...and unless he is willing to back up his words with the
> actions I describe above, all his attacks are those of someone barking
> at his own caretaker.
>
>
> Some examples...I was going to remind him that the current
> configuration of our nation was the result of aggressive action in the
> 19th century by the national government, funded by taxpayers, to seize
> vast amounts of land through purchase and/or military conquest, to
> pacify these lands through federal military occupation, to subsidize
> the construction of the railroads through gifts of land and military
> protection, and to subsidize settlement through the offer of land
> grants. However ghost-sniper has already suggested that he considers
> all of these illegitimate and unconstitutional acts in his amusing
> rejection of Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territory with
> national tax dollars! Without these actions by the tax-based national
> government we would still be the original 13 colonies on the Atlantic
> Coast, backed up by a much larger French-speaking nation stretching
> from New Orleans to Canada, including Louisiana, Mississippi,
> Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, etc. Of course we don't know
> what would have happened between Spain and France....since for some
> time they were both ruled by the Bourbons,...so maybe all of the North
> American continent would be ruled by a French-Spanish nation
> dominating its tiny English-speaking neighbor. Personally, I imagine
> that if Jefferson had NOT purchased Louisiana, the French and Spanish
> would have ultimately crushed the 13 coastal states in order to win
> access to their Atlantic ports. (By the way....ghost sniper lives in
> Florida...."La Florida" of the Spanish Empire....now just how did THAT
> become part of the US without action by the national government?...or
> maybe he would prefer to pay taxes to King Juan Carlos!?)
>
>
> I for one am quite proud to be part of a civilized society in a nation
> of states. I am quite happy to be part of a species that survives at
> its best through combined efforts. I am also proud to be an
> architect....part of a 5000-year legacy of providing the built
> settings for the life of this civilization.
>
>
> I expect that others share this pride...and I offer you my respect and
> friendship.
>
>
> Christopher Egan,
> Architect and citizen of the United States of America
>
> ------------------------
>
>
>
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