[alicebot-aiethics] The Peace Platform

[Brenda R. Freedman]

>1. Let's not concentrate office workers in gigantic towers, but spread them
>around many smaller facilities throughout cities and suburbs.
    I have always been opposed to large buildings. I remember in 
Philadelphia when they changed the law to allow a large office building to 
be built higher than City Hall. My first thoughts at the time was how 
dangerous and unsafe for occupants if they had to be evacuated. I did work 
in that building too and remember how I thought often about being in such a 
highly populated office building and what would happen in an emergency if 
it arose. I have always thought it is much safer to work in buildings that 
have more accessibility to leave in the case of an emergency.

>2. Let's not rely on jet travel so much.  America made some bad choices in
>the past, when we sacrificed the railroads to build interstate highways and
>support jet travel.  Rebuild the railroads and diversify our transportation
>options.
  Because the aviation industry has taken precedence over rail travel, it 
has left our rail system almost non-existent and costly. That is a true and 
sad fact that has made travel by train almost prohibitive (not regional 
lines but more long distance travel). There was a time when people enjoyed 
travelling by train seeing the country, spending time with family and 
friends and making it an adventure to travel to destinations. Today, we are 
always in a "rush" to get somewhere and ignore our desperately needed 
alternative forms of transportation.  Everywhere you go today they are 
always making highways bigger to accommodate the needs of more vehicles on 
the road.

>3. Stop driving so much.  Telecommute more, and decrease our reliance on
>automotive transportation, and in turn oil.
I am lucky to live in a city with one of the best transportation systems in 
the country (Philadelphia). I have not had a car close to 20 years and have 
never had a problem travelling anywhere either in the city or outside of 
the city limits. I remember back in the 1970's when we encountered the oil 
crisis and remember having to stand in line at gas stations to get fuel. It 
was insanity and thought then how the warnings I remember hearing of the 
dependency on oil should be heeded. If we do not seriously develop 
alternate sources of energy, then we may be dependent on oil resources for 
our future and the future of our own children.

>4. Alternative energy sources like Wind and Solar need to be developed much
>more.  Continued reliance on oil only increases the chance of conflict.
My father when he died in 1977 and an engineer, was working on one of the 
first solar power plants. He was always a visionary and I remember how 
excited he was to work on such a project. I remember him telling me how 
wonderful it could be to develop this technology for all sorts of uses. If 
the Hubble Space Telescope can be run on solar power, then I would think we 
could  make the effort to develop this resource for so many more needs in 
our daily lives.

>5. Decrease U.S. military involvement overseas.  Let other nations settle
>their own conflicts without us.  We don't have to be Policeman of the World.
The United States seems to position itself to be a part of everyone's 
conflicts. I do believe in intervention when human rights are violated as 
no one should be made to live with oppression of their basic needs and 
rights. It may be easier said then done, but it is something to consider 
when we live in such troubled times.

>6. The Wired World will help us decrease our reliance on fuel and
>transportation, and allow us to spread out and decentralize organizations.
>The recent burst of the Internet bubble does not invalidate the long-term
>potential for services such as home shopping.  Investing in network and
>computer technology will liberate us from the hydrocarbon economy.
I have been a strong proponent of conducting business online and saw this 
as a way to run business, make it easier for people to work at home without 
the pressures of commuting, child care and all of the burdens associated 
with needing to leave the home to work. I for one was excited about the 
internet and saw it as a way to build global communities and give 
opportunities to build strong organizations from a pool of talented people 
and resources people worldwide. Of course to accomplish these goals, we 
must be willing to bridge the digital divide and more affluent governments 
need to allocate needed resources to help communities become "wired" and 
build a global network.

>7. The Pentagon and the World Trade Center are powerful symbols of America.
>But they are also symbols from a time gone by.  The Pentagon was built
>during World War II and oversaw the Cold War.  But it is a symbol of an
>industrial age, an age of mechanized war between states.  We should
>decentralize the military as much as possible to remove such high-profile
>targets.  The World Trade Center too is a symbol of an age when Bigger was
>Better.  The challenge to build the highest building in the world is an
>archetype of the age of extremes.  It was an age before environmental impact
>studies, historical preservation, or archaeological studies of building
>sites in lower Manhattan.  As evil as the destruction of these symbols was,
>we should ask whether the existence of such symbols is worth the price.
As stated above, I have always believed that building these large buildings 
was not a wise decision. Although I do live on the 28th floor of a high 
rise building, we had an incident where we needed to be evacuated. Our 
building lost power due to a flood from in the basement and there was 
concern because near electrical wiring, the Fire Department ordered power 
shut off. I remember the Fire Department banging on our doors making us 
leave at midnight and it was a frightening experience. We had to leave and 
go down 28 flights to the ground, and although it was not an easy task, it 
is nothing compared to what people had to do at the WTC.

>8. No outcome could be worse than the loss of civil liberties and human
>rights that have been built up over generations.  We cannot sacrifice any of
>our civil rights in the name of tracking down and punishing terrorists.
There has been much discussion about the loss of civil rights in light of 
this recent situation. To what extent this will happen and how much we will 
be affected is something to think about. I have read in other discussion 
lists how people are angry that why should we have to give up our civil 
liberties when we did not cause the problem. Perhaps people have taken 
civil liberties and our rights too lightly without cause of the outcomes 
until a terrible tragedy shook our nation to the core. Perhaps if we all 
take a good look at what needs to be changed and are willing to sacrifice 
some of our conveniences, we will have the strength to conquer these 
fears.  I live in the most historical city in the nation  and still marvel 
that there are streets I walk down that have not changed in hundreds of 
years and yet, didn't our forefathers draft a constitution to ensure as a 
nation we have these rights. Times may have changed and the social fabric 
of our lives may be different, but these same rights should never be 
compromised. It would be a very sad day for our nation and the planet 
itself, if our Constitution became something we talked about to our 
children and grandchildren as something that was held in the highest regard 
granting us rights under this document.

>9. Afghanistan is one likely target of military action.  It should be
>remembered that Afghanistan has never been conquered, although the British
>and Russian both tried for centuries.  Afghanistan destroyed the Soviet
>Union.  The terrain is mountainous and the people are accustomed to fighting
>foreigners on their own soil.  The last place in the world where America
>should be involved militarily is Afghanistan.
We have sent our sons and daughters off to military battles. I have many 
good friend who have been in the military, friends lost in the  Viet Nam 
War and friends whose parents survived the concentration camps. I do 
believe that people who commit crimes against others killing innocent 
people need to be brought to justice, however, will there ever be a day 
when people can truly get along without escalating into hideous acts of 
retaliation. I am very proud to be an American. I am more ashamed that 
people of all ages do not know enough about history or even have a desire 
to learn.  What we witnessed this past week was a terrible lesson in our 
history.   Is it two late to change the way we live and work. I like to 
think that we can make a difference but the price paid by loss of lives 
this past week as many times has been the fact through history is a large 
price to pay.

>10. Pray for peace.  Whether you stand for war or peace, please say a prayer
>for a peaceful outcome as soon as possible, with the smallest loss of life.
>Even if you disagree with every point above, you can't disagree that the
>pain and suffering ahead should be as limited as possible.  If enough people
>pray for peace, it can be achieved.
>
>We need to come together and comfort the people who have had losses and 
>also be willing to help others. I do believe the Alice project is an 
>example of how we can help educate people and be an example of how a 
>global community of all ages and all races have come together for a common 
>goal. There may be differences among all of us and even our views but in 
>the end we all seem to be a model of an impotant part of future society. 
>We have the best chance to help in these very sad times.


Brenda

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