Discovery versus Anti-discovery

On schedule, the morning of 26 July 2005, American shuttle Discovery launched into space. It was commanded by an American woman, a first, and the crew manifested a Japanese astronaut and another American woman astronaut, among the whole group. Whatever else it was, the return to space was an event celebrating human achievement.

Ayn Rand once answered someone who asked, "What keeps an airplane up?" by saying, "man's mind." That is what Discovery is all about.

Discovery demonstrates philosophy in action. No, not the stuff most people very mistakenly think of when they think of "philosophy," that university grab-bag of nonsense. This is about the real stuff, real philosophy.

Human beings readied Discovery, and human beings took the craft up. To do this, there had to be many people totally dedicated to following the dictates of reality. Twice before, they had learned tragically the meaning of failing to adhere fully to reality, to the data provided by their senses, and to the rigorous application of reason. To ready Discovery, minds had to journey ceaselessly between the concretes to the abstracts, back to the concretes, with almost endless repetitions. The products of many minds and the actions of many persons had to come together to modify what others created earlier, to ensure a safe Discovery mission. They had to push the limits of their knowledge in every way, which included trying to catch every possible error.

They did all of this because this is what human beings are capable of doing at their best. Discovery is all about the application of human capabilities, which are the metaphysical nature of mankind. Morally, all readying Discovery had to do everything they could, to do their best and slouch on nothing. They had to live their values, and to value those who would ride this torch into space--and return. Human morality governed every action as did reality and reason.

Where did this launch into space take place? In Florida, in the United States of America, in this sole remaining bastion of capitalism on the globe. Only a society which frees men from predation from other men could provide the key intellectual climate for this accomplishment. The Rights of Man, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, and the Industrial Revolution fused into that greatest of all social-political systems ever devised by humans: capitalism. That our nation has negatives to work out with regard to its culture, its government, and its governing philosophy does not take away from the essential meanings contained within the launch of Discovery.

It was beautiful. It was inspiring. It made people glad to be Americans.

Meanwhile, back on the planet, we ineptly grind out handling national and international savages who call themselves Muslims and follow the Nazi-like ideology called "Islam."

After Discovery achieved orbit, news organizations returned to dealing with these chronically petulant and obnoxiously angry people with ugly beards, hats, and clothes, the complete opposite of everything Discovery represents. Calling themselves Muslims, meaning followers of Islam, they originated from a wretched and stagnant sandbox, from ideas not even suited to their miserable 7th century C.E. existences. They launched war on all of humanity everywhere and have been at it since about 622 C.E. It is their raison d'etre, and the only reason they have survived this long.

They killed what could have been their own renaissance after pilfering the works of the great thinkers of the early world, including Aristotle and extant Greek philosophy. Inventing nothing and discovering nothing, they managed to cash in on the ideas taken from those whom they conquered. All sorts of these new ideas took root in Islamia and severely threatened the continued existence of Islam. Muslims reached a nexus. They had either to accept orthodox Islam or accept freedom of minds. They chose the former.

They killed their philosophers, their scientists, and their artists. Those not physically destroyed, perished under a philosophy so anti-life that it could not be equalled until the 20th century C.E. Progress stopped, and beauty withered into ugliness. So they remained for century after century, with plenty of nothing.

They could not qualify for being classified as a "civilization." They had a raw meat, totalitarian theocracy. It was and is anti-man, anti-life, anti-reality, anti-reason, anti-individual, anti-freedom, and even anti-art. It is today as it has always been, for about 1400 years.

Islam is the opposite of Discovery. It is the monument to anti-discovery.

The only problem we have with this Islam today is one of our own making. We ought to put Islam and Muslims out of our misery, and do it with completeness and rapidity. We can then return to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, concepts abhored by Islam.

Were it not for Muslims using our own discoveries and inventions against us, by our inept acquiescence, these Muslims would be lucky to be able to swing a scimitar, which they would have to steal--not produce. They ignite our gunpowder in our projectiles with our cell phones. The communicate using our computers. And on it goes. They are the most worthless and useless human beings on earth.

Those Muslims, who have infested our homeland, act uncivilly by demanding that we cater to their 7th century narcissism, while they continue to live as parasites on us and the world. They do not want to join us in the joys of living. They want to kill us and destroy our joy of living. They do not deserve to be here or stay here. Were it not for our irrationality which provides support for Muslim behaviors here and abroad, they could not threaten anyone beyond the reach of a trip by camel.

Discovery goes up, exalting the glory of man and life on earth. On earth, we let the forces of anti-discovery continue to exist and tear away at our lives.

What a contrast.