2 ms·

It's pointless to criticize religion on the grounds of practical utility, or lack thereof. It isn't "legalistic creep" unless you're suggesting the Navajo just

by krapp 3y ago

It's pointless to criticize religion on the grounds of practical utility, or lack thereof. It isn't "legalistic creep" unless you're suggesting the Navajo just recently decided on this belief to make some kind of property claim on the moon, which I don't think is the case. They're doing what any sovereign nation would do, which is expect treaties made with them to be taken seriously. Don't forget that Christians claim sacred dominion over the entire planet and that all of creation, every nation on Earth, every people, every resource, the moon and the rest of the universe, were made for their pleasure. If Christians saw the moon as sacred the way that many other cultures do, Americans might never have landed on it, preferring rather to condemn Russia for defiling sacred land when they inevitably did themselves. I'm not saying NASA should listen to the Navajo - it would be weird if this were the one instance where the American government gave a damn about anything natives had to say - but I also don't like the idea of startups hiring NASA to dump rich peoples' cremains on the moon so I'm nominally on the Navajos' side here, if only to stand in the way of "progress" like that.

andsoitis 3y ago
> I also don't like the idea of startups hiring NASA to dump rich peoples' cremains on the moon The only person to date whose ashes have been sent to the moon as a tribute was in 1999, and was the ashes of renowned planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker. That triggered their first uproar. > They're doing what any sovereign nation would do, which is expect treaties made with them to be taken seriously. There is no treaty stipulating that people’s ashes wont be sent to the moon. Celestis has a measured take on the legal and ethical considerations for this sort of thing: https://www.celestis.com/blog/the-ethics-and-regulations-of-sending-ashes-to-the-moon/ https://www.celestis.com/blog/the-ethics-and-regulations-of-...
- krapp 3y ago
  >The only person to date whose ashes have been sent to the moon as a tribute was in 1999, and was the ashes of renowned planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker. >That triggered their first uproar. And now at least two companies are making it a business venture. If we let this go, in ten years every nation will be dumping its garbage there. In twenty years, nuclear waste. In fifty years, the moon is going to look like a burning New Jersey landfill. Capitalism is going to destroy the Earth, we don't have to let it destroy the moon as well. >There is no treaty stipulating that people’s ashes wont be sent to the moon. Fair, apparently it's a "memo signed by the Biden administration that pledged to consult the tribe on matters that impact them. " Still gives the Navajo leeway to complain. As they should. More people should. >Celestis has a page on the legal and ethical considerations for this sort of thing. Yes, they're aware that ethical considerations exist, and yet they're doing the thing anyway, because they're a business and couldn't care less. Like every business they expect (or intend to purchase) laws and regulations that favor them.
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    [deleted]
anigbrowl 3y ago
I'm in favor of treaties being taken seriously; the US has a bad record in this regard. But the definition of 'sacred site' seems impossibly vague. Don't forget that Christians claim sacred dominion over the entire planet and that all of creation All of the Abrahamic religions seem to take this approach, and it's why I think monotheism is trash. When I respond to claims of this sort it's with a simple 'I don't share your belief' and a refusal to engage any further with tier axioms. dump rich peoples' cremains on the moon I think NASA should split the difference by offering to dump the cremains, but not any identifiable markers about who they used to belong to. Just mix them in with the lunar dust and call it a day.

by krapp 3y ago

andsoitis 3y ago

> I also don't like the idea of startups hiring NASA to dump rich peoples' cremains on the moon The only person to date whose ashes have been sent to the moon as a tribute was in 1999, and was the ashes of renowned planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker. That triggered their first uproar. > They're doing what any sovereign nation would do, which is expect treaties made with them to be taken seriously. There is no treaty stipulating that people’s ashes wont be sent to the moon. Celestis has a measured take on the legal and ethical considerations for this sort of thing: https://www.celestis.com/blog/the-ethics-and-regulations-of-sending-ashes-to-the-moon/ https://www.celestis.com/blog/the-ethics-and-regulations-of-...

krapp 3y ago
>The only person to date whose ashes have been sent to the moon as a tribute was in 1999, and was the ashes of renowned planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker. >That triggered their first uproar. And now at least two companies are making it a business venture. If we let this go, in ten years every nation will be dumping its garbage there. In twenty years, nuclear waste. In fifty years, the moon is going to look like a burning New Jersey landfill. Capitalism is going to destroy the Earth, we don't have to let it destroy the moon as well. >There is no treaty stipulating that people’s ashes wont be sent to the moon. Fair, apparently it's a "memo signed by the Biden administration that pledged to consult the tribe on matters that impact them. " Still gives the Navajo leeway to complain. As they should. More people should. >Celestis has a page on the legal and ethical considerations for this sort of thing. Yes, they're aware that ethical considerations exist, and yet they're doing the thing anyway, because they're a business and couldn't care less. Like every business they expect (or intend to purchase) laws and regulations that favor them.
- deleted 3y ago
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anigbrowl 3y ago

I'm in favor of treaties being taken seriously; the US has a bad record in this regard. But the definition of 'sacred site' seems impossibly vague. Don't forget that Christians claim sacred dominion over the entire planet and that all of creation All of the Abrahamic religions seem to take this approach, and it's why I think monotheism is trash. When I respond to claims of this sort it's with a simple 'I don't share your belief' and a refusal to engage any further with tier axioms. dump rich peoples' cremains on the moon I think NASA should split the difference by offering to dump the cremains, but not any identifiable markers about who they used to belong to. Just mix them in with the lunar dust and call it a day.