I have been confused by the ever-increasing discussion of telescopes
here on this sailing group this past several months.

My confusion has ended because I have thought about it and have come
to the conclusion that telescopes represent a visible symptom of a sick society.
This may seem a somewhat radical thing to say but I have good reasons for it.
Read on . . .

We have become a peeping Tom society with the advent of the Internet,
cell phone cameras, cable TV, reality shows, surveillance cameras, mpegs, etc.
Too many people these days certainly are way, way too involved in snooping
vicariously into the lives of other people - all the while staying at a safe
distance and uninvolved.

Telescopes represent an extension of this perversity. Sick people looking
into the windows and lives of unsuspecting people and surveilling them.

Sad, so sad.

CN