Re: [UUPoly-L] Stranger in a Strange Land

[David <airsafe1@comcast.net>]

I agree with Dorothy, my story is similar. I had left the Xian 
church and my first marriage in my late 40's. I met a woman who 
knew my education was lacking and she prescribed a list of books 
to read, including 2150AD and SISL. 2150AD had a major effect on 
my life, leading me into paths I didn't know existed, and Heinlein 
hooked me on his ideas. I eventually read everything he wrote, 
including the kids stuff. I give away copies of his books to 
anyone who will read them, including the kids of my friends. FWIW, 
I think the shorter version is much better, as did Oberon when the 
longer version first appeared.

When I discovered the Church of All Worlds actually existed, I 
joined, took some classes in magick, started a nest and worked up 
to 4th circle. The other person who became a Scion in the same 
ritual with me is now a family member and current Pres. of UUPA. I 
have many wonderful memories of the CAW family of water brothers, 
and was at a loss when things fell apart. I am still in touch with 
some from those days. I am still a UU Pagan.

Yes, Moon is a better book for looking for solutions to today's 
problems, the idea of corporate line marriage is achievable 
legally. There just are not many people willing to make the 
changes in their lives to have it happen. We are taught to "do it 
ourselves", and to avoid relying on others. We are taught there is 
NOT "time enough to love", got to make enough money for the good 
life and retirement.

There are major flaws in almost all SF/Poly life novels (Heinlein, 
Rimmer, etc.) There is almost always someone who owns enough of 
the world so money is rarely a problem. In my world, jobs and 
money hold many people in places where they cannot find, or move 
in with, the poly family of their dreams. Living together in 
larger families/pods would reduce the strain of the current 
economic crisis, but who has a house big enough for the kind of 
family we dream about. Don't get me started any further on this, I 
will start to cry.

Dave



On Sun Aug 17 18:21:13 CDT 2008, Dorothy Krause 
<dorothyk@charter.net> wrote:

> The answer, for me, is yes, but no. Other Heinlein books had far 
> greater
> impact on me then Stranger. Specifically Time Enough for Love and 
> I Will
> Fear No Evil shaped a lot of my relationship ideals, along with 
> the family
> and relationship structures described in The Moon is a Harsh 
> Mistress. It
> wasn't until I re-read them in the mid to late 90's before light 
> bulbs
> started going off and it became obvious where my thinking came 
> from, after
> having read them first as a young adult in the mid 70's. (See bit 
> I posted
> from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, at 
> http://dorothyk.net/MoonMarriage.html
> in '97 or so. I still consider it somewhat of a realistic ideal.)
> 
> If Oberon had not used Stranger as the basis for forming The 
> Church of All
> Worlds, which spun off the poly movement to a large degree, it 
> would likely
> not have gotten nearly the credit that it has.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberon_Zell-Ravenheart Note, his 
> wife, Morning
> Glory, is generally credited with penning the term Polyamory.
> 
> I believe there are better fiction books that describe 
> multipartnering than
> Stranger, but I acknowledge the significance of the book within 
> the
> movement. It just ain't my bible. I hang out with folks, 
> including priests
> and priestesses, that dropped out of CAW during a period of 
> turmoil within
> the organization. Not certain whether I would have joined or not, 
> if the
> opportunity presented itself, but I do get a lot from being able 
> to listen
> to what they have to share. I don't think many of the people in 
> my group are
> active there, but there is a decent discussion group available at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAWfeehouse if people would be 
> interested in
> discussions about CAW, past, present, and future. Dorothy
> Madison, Wisconsin
> 
> On 8/17/2008 5:22:50 PM, polojohn60@aol.com wrote:
>> I missed reading the Heinlein novel in the
>> 60's, but read it recently  and
>> Stranger in a Strange Land resonated with me.  Have others  read 
>> it and has it been as important to Polyamory as Wikipedia 
>> implies?
>> 
>> Polo John
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
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