Frustration wrote: ↑Wed Apr 13, 2022 10:08 pm
He
did understand his situation. That's why he killed himself.
For the final time: either you understand this, or you do not - and must be countered by those who do, for the good of the world.
For what "good" and whose world?
You're arguing for a kind of Vogon morality that cares nothing for the deaths of billions, the elimination of whole planets and civilizations, so long as the rules are being followed. It's their fault anyway, living on a doomed planet like that. If they wanted to live all they had to do was invent the warp drive and then either leave or ask for help from the aliens that are currently hiding their existence from them. I bet they don't even bother making the trip to the local planning department in alpha centauri to take an interest in local affairs.
And you accuse everyone else of wanting to engage in supremacist behaviors that would destroy cultures, as though one cannot render aid without turning it into some kind of ethnic cleansing campaign. But you are the one who is arguing that the technologically inferior peoples must have their decisions made for them, can't be treated as equals, and cannot be trusted to make their own decide their own fates. You take this stance to the point of advocating that it is better that they all die than for us to engage in basic diplomacy.
Obviously, the good involved isn't the culture that is being destroyed utterly and completely. A culture can only exist so long as there are people that are a part of it. And it cannot be for the benefit of those people, because they're dead. Now, yes, you can argue that dying is preferable, but the thing is, that isn't really your call, because it isn't your life. If you asked the people living on a doomed world if they want to be rescued, and they say no, that's their choice. But if they do think that living is worth it, even as survivors who have lost their home, then you can't use that as an excuse. You don't get to be the good guy by telling the refugees that they should stay where they are and die.
And it isn't the larger galactic community that is served by this policy either. A galaxy that refuses to offer aid to those who clearly need it is a galaxy that will not only be filled with more suffering and death, but also one which has a lot more trouble making friends, and a lot less trouble making enemies. We see this clearly in the history of the federation. It was the Vulcans arriving on earth and engaging with the humans that help transform earth from dystopia to utopia, and the heart of massive galaxy spanning super power. And it was a federation ship coming to the aid of Klingons who were being attacked by Romulans (directly intervening in a matter that didn't involve them) that helped prevent generations of endless warfare.
And it can't be for the future, out of a vague fear of the idea that there will be unknown consequences of our actions. Because unless you are screwing around with time travel, you never know all the consequences of your choices. Sure, saving a group of medieval peasants from another planet might cause serious problems in the future, but letting them die might also screw things up. Whales going extinct nearly lead to the destruction of earth, no one could have predicted that (at least not destruction in the form of a giant probe rendering earth uninhabitable by screaming in whale song). There will always be rippling consequences, usually a mix of good and bad. I would say that you have to make the best choice you can with the information you have, as opposed to dogmatically following a rule that applies a one-size fits all solution of "sit back and do nothing."
The only people served by this policy of genocide by inaction are those who may benefit from picking at the corpses of dead civilizations, and those who simply want to have a clear conscience when they choose to make popcorn and enjoy the show instead of lifting a finger to save people from meaningless and preventable deaths. It's a selfish, short-sighted "good" which views the lives of billions of others as a small price to pay for one's own convenience and indifference.
But of course, that's all invalid because anyone who doesn't see it your way just doesn't
get it.