by:

York W. Porter

Immortalist Society President

To those of you who are my age or older, the above article title is obviously a play on the words of President John F. Kennedy's famous line from his inaugural address of "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Stirring words then, and stirring words now, President Kennedy's call, cut short by his assassination in Dallas, Texas in 1963, serve as a reminder to all of us that "service to others" and "charity towards all" is a better way to live..

The pleading of Oliver Twist in the novel by Charles Dickens of that same name brings forth, however, a negative aspect of charity. In the passage in which nine year old Oliver asks for some additional food with "Please, Sir, I want some more....", he is met with a harsh and violent response. This response, received in return to the pleadings of a small and helpless child, serve as a reminder of how important true charity can be. Cryonics, in a certain and basic sense, is a charitable endeavor itself. Though the various cryonics organizations differ in their corporate structures with some traditionally "for profit" and others traditionally "non profit", each organization is based on the premise that the fundamental concepts of cryonics are beneficial to mankind as a whole and that the services that the various cryonics organizations offer should be as widely available as possible, consistent with each organization's individual philosophy and the price structure and other requirements that derive from that. Though there are, and will continue to be, strong arguments in favor of one point of view or another, I have yet to meet a cryonicist whom I considered to be a totally selfish individual, i.e, someone who has no concern whatsoever for others and for whom cryonics represents an opportunity at self aggrandizement and a chance to "scam" others. As I mentioned in a previous column, Robert Ettinger's leadership example of integrity, determination, truth, and diplomacy shines like a beacon in the night and will always serve as an example for those of us who have followed him in trying to guide the various organizations toward our ultimate and, in my view, inevitable success.

Charitable in basic philosophy notwithstanding, however, the fact remains that we live in a real world and one in which, at times, good intentions go for naught in the great scheme of things and only strength is what finally counts. In the example of the American Civil War, the fact that the North outnumbered the South in population and industrial resources was a major factor in the final strategy employed by Ulysses S. Grant in securing the defeat of Confederate forces and the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomotox. Grant realized that whatever losses he incurred, due to his superior resources, the South could not stand as long as the Confederate forces paid an equal price in men, arms, and supplies. Had the tables been reversed and had the South been fighting for the Union and the abolition of slavery, the outcome, I fear, would have been much the same. As has been said about military struggles, "God is on the side of whoever has the biggest artillery...".

In modern day America, we have, thankfully, given up, by and large, the force of arms and replaced it with numerous laws and regulations (one million one hundred thousand according to one account I read). Further, written agreements, Boards of Directors, courts of law, along with local, state, and federal regulatory bodies, etc., etc. with an "army" of lawyers and their briefcases to try to sort all this out are our society's method of avoiding armed conflict. Our basic attempt as a society in whatever the merits or lack of them of a particular piece of legislation, has been to try to establish a safe and orderly society in which people and the activities that they engage in will be protected from the vagaries of the world.

Yet the vagaries of the world continue, in spite of all our efforts to stop them. One of the most impressive things I have found among many members of the generation of Americans of my mother and father's generation (the so-called "Greatest Generation") has been the way that they both faced and were influenced by the two major traumatic societal events which they had to deal with and those were the Great Depression and World War II. My father spoke several times with me of his decision to join the Army in the 1930's in part because of a failure to find much other gainful employment in spite of his many attempts to do so. My mother mentioned my grandfather, who was a general surgeon, sometimes accepting produce and other bartered items in lieu of payment. I remember my father-in-law telling me of walking five to six miles to his job as a manual laborer during this same time period, working more or less continuously with a pick and shovel until quitting time and then walking back home again at days end only to repeat the process over the next day. I remember my father telling me of going to the recruiting station voluntarily after Pearl Harbor was attacked and offering to reenlist and his expression of some disappointment that he was unable to do so due to working in what was considered to be an "essential occupation". It was the strength of these individuals and the strength of millions of others, Robert Ettinger included, that "saved the day", restored economic prosperity, and forced the brutality of the Axis powers to cease.

In the same way, it will only be the strength of the cryonics organizations and their individual members that will "save the day" for the people who are entrusted to their care. In your own case, as a cryonicist, you are an important part of a world changing concept and your strength individually as well as our strength collectively is an integral part of our movement. One of the most important things you can do involves some points about your individual suspension contract.

Specific information about this will come in this column in the next issue and I urge you to read and take some actions along the lines of the points that will be made there.