Intergalactic Summit

I think you're misunderstanding the point of the comment somewhat. I'm not saying people shouldn't get on spaceships at risk of death, I'm saying that the events that lead to these little battles that we take as read are things we can avoid. Like sticking a fork in an electrical socket.

Nobody would call crew dying a good thing that we want to have happen. Perhaps other people's crew, but crew death in general is not something you want to spend that much time, money, and effort training someone for. Not to mention the effect this has on families. The insurance check a family gets from a dead crewman's employer may be better than nothing, but a check isn't a father or a mother. It's small comfort when losing friends that they knew it was a possibility when they left. It is still avoidable.

A lot of people call me an idealist, but I think I simply don't accept the excuse that people aren't capable of something. It's a coward's argument and, if history is any indication, we're perfectly capable of overcoming our petty personal issues. I simply find it a false assumption that people can't avoid killing a million people over a financial mistake. I think it's false that we can't avoid warfare simply because we've found it so convenient so far in our history. There was a time that we couldn't fly, either.

In the end, I do think we'll learn to stop this, and future generations will look back on us as barbarians for not being able to control our tempers. Warfare is a rather ridiculous waste of lives and resources when you think about it, but especially in the capsuleer era when you might kill the relatively replaceable crew, but your enemy will simply go and buy or build another ship and fly again. The entire reason why warfare ever worked, that you permanently removed a threat, is a lot more difficult to justify when we can't permanently remove threats anymore.

But this isn't a game for the people whose lives are irreplaceable, and I'd rather those navigators, engine technicians, and cooks be able to serve freely on mining and scientific vessels than having to fly into combat where they may be killed and their lives essentially wasted, their training and potential use to the universe gone forever.

It's like we, as a species, have a problem akin to alcoholism. We like to deny it's a problem, we pretend it's just a part of everyday life no matter how much damage it does to us as a whole, and when we do realize it's a problem we run away and don't deal with it. It might be hard to not kill people because we want something, but it isn't beyond our capabilities to rise above that sort of thing. We're just so addicted to getting a temporary fix the easy way rather than a permanent solution the hard way.

I've come to realize that Null serves a very important purpose.
I'll elaborate in the next few days.

Newsflash: the universe does not care whether you think we should find something acceptable or not. It also does not really confirm to your idea of how we should or should not communicate.

As many wise people tell us, "the only way to wisdom is facing the facts".

Else

But saying something should be differently, let alone should have been differently, is not making the world any better, it is complaining about the fact that someone else has not. To really be effective in causing a change, you have to start from how things are now and build on it. Otherwise, you will be wasting effort.

Elsebeth

Saying "this needs to change" is useful. Saying "this should have changed already" or "this reasoning that has not convinced humans in tens of thousands of years needs to start working now" is just waste of time.

So edgy.

Right back at ya.
Really...
The simple fact that you are continually having to attack "inane" idealism should give you pause.

Talking can make the world better.

Whether it will have any impact in this specific circumstances is questionable, but discussion both establishes norms and is the prelude to changing those norms.

I'd dare say that given how we're a group of immortals, any sort of permanent change is only going to happen by winning hearts and minds. Blowing one another up is far less effective.