Philippe Rochefort:
"'I believe in being what you are and standing by your own.'" (p. 488)
Who are his own? Human beings? Everyone in the Terran Empire? "Our own" can be extended a long way. Or not. Look at the world now.
Someone once said to me, "You've had a better education than a lot of other people in the world so you've got to defend that." Defend it in what sense? Defend and maintain educational standards in Britain? Certainly. Prevent others from reaching the same standards? Certainly not.
Rochefort:
"'To the extent that man is the leading race - furnishes most of the leaders - in Technic civilization, yes, I suppose you'd have to call me a human supremacist,' he admitted." (ibid.)
Keep it that way forever? Not necessarily.
We now have a Hindu British Prime Minister and a Muslim Scottish First Minister. (We are all human beings, of course.)
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
The first earthly loyalty for most of us has to be for our own country and nation.
That does not mean whoever is governing a particular nation deserves or should get any loyalty. The tyrannical regimes misruling Russia, China, Iran, N Korea, etc., are perfect examples of that!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I find different loyalties. If my country ruled another that was struggling for its independence, then I would support that independence movement.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I disagree. If anything, the world is vastly worse off now because the old European empires are now gone. Anderson himself partly agreed, writing in one of his letters that independence came 40 years too soon for Africa.
The hordes of weak, chaotic, badly governed nations we see now are going to inevitably tempt other would be empire builders to gobble them up. And probably be vastly worse than the Europeans.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
People who want independence are entitled to it and should not be forcibly suppressed.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And it's a dead certainty that is exactly what is going to happen, no matter what we might prefer! Human beings are going to remain incorrigibly, in bad and good ways.
Ad astra! Sean
I meant "incorrigible." Drat!
Sean
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