One of the primary reasons used by mothers (yes, they're mothers even before their child is born) to justify having an abortion is the serious malformation of their prenatal child. Science hasn't yet learned to discover all abnormal prenatal conditions but that part of medical knowledge is advancing rapidly and many congenital defects are known before birth. One day, we'll be able to tell ahead of time exactly how "normal" a child will be when it is born.
Until recently I was about to buy into the idea that a seriously malformed fetus might be better off, along with its parents, not to be exposed to the pain and expense of radical medical treatment necessary to save the life of this unfortunate hypothetical child. Go ahead, I thought, add this one to the list of conditions where abortion becomes "justifiable homicide." Then I met Katie.
Katie was born with several internal organs that didn't form properly. Her health never was good from day 1 but she struggled for life and hung on. Katie also had something else going against her: parents and family who could not or would not assume the responsibility of caring for her extreme needs and gave her up to the State for care. I don't know why Katie's mother didn't elect to have an abortion and I don't know if Katie's defects could have been diagnosed prior to birth but none of that matters. Under the "malformed fetus justification" of many pro-choice advocates, Katie surely could have been killed before birth and those folks would have felt like they had done nothing wrong.
They would have, however, prevented the world from knowing Katie, and that would have been a great loss. Katie got some help from a magnificent charitable organization and has overcome her defects to the point that her prognosis is very good for a long and productive life. Nowadays Katie brings untold joy to her adoptive family, she gives deep satisfaction to those who work for the charity that saved her life, her story touches the lives of so many in very beneficial ways. My crystal ball doesn't tell me if Katie is going to grow up one day and find a cure for cancer or discover a way to run cars on water, but the things she's given lots of us already outweigh the cost of the care society has provided.
It doesn't seem right to me that lots of kids like Katie never have a chance to shine their light on this struggling society of ours. Our path to Nirvana is going to be longer and harder if we keep killing Katie.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Animal Farm - Bulls, Bears, & Pigs
Homo Sapiens is a remarkably adaptable species. When confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, we usually find a way to deal with them and get on with our journey toward nirvana. Even in the pursuit of stupidity some of us find ways to circumvent the wisdom of the ages to plod on toward infamy. Take the financial markets, for instance.
The road to wealth is littered with the corpses of those who did not learn of, or would not heed the lessons learned by the corpses they have passed along the way. While most folks would not take over the controls of an airplane in mid-flight because of their self-acknowleged lack of education or experience in piloting, they readily accept the Captain's seat to pilot their own savings portfolios - with sometimes disasterous results. The more intelligent of this group hire themselves a qualified co-pilot but fail to give the helper a breathalyzer test before take-off.
An otherwise educated, experienced, and competent pilot will probably not do a good job of driving the airplane if he's drunk. In the case of a financial co-pilot - drunk with ignorance, arrogance, lack of ethics, greed, etc. The really polite, well dressed, charismatic "talking head" behind the desk in the hiring interview may be a classic "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" enigma. When the flight becomes turbulent, this co-pilot will be either little help or he will offer advice that aggravates the emergency.
One of the little chuncks of Wisdom of the Ages in the equity markets is:
"Bulls get rich and Bears get rich but Pigs get slaughtered."
For those to whom the meaning is not obvious: Bulls are those who believe the stock market will rise in value and make investment decisions accordingly; which result in profits. Bears are investors who believe the markets will decline and make investments to profit from this situation. Pigs, on the other hand let greed (a pervasive and dangerous human emotion) guide their investment decisions and, while they get fat sometimes, they eventually wind up as bacon on someone's breakfast table.
Bulls are not always correct in their estimate of the financial climate but they use tried and true methods to avoid a disaster that might result from their erroneous estimates. Bears use similar methods to weather an unexpected storm. Like a drunk pilot, greed (the alcohol of the investment world) has clouded the Pig's judgement to the point he ignores the "Wisdom of the Ages."
Be a Bull sometimes. Become a Bear when necessary. If you don't know exactly how to fly that flight plan, hire a sober co-pilot. Never get greedy or deal with greedy people.
The road to wealth is littered with the corpses of those who did not learn of, or would not heed the lessons learned by the corpses they have passed along the way. While most folks would not take over the controls of an airplane in mid-flight because of their self-acknowleged lack of education or experience in piloting, they readily accept the Captain's seat to pilot their own savings portfolios - with sometimes disasterous results. The more intelligent of this group hire themselves a qualified co-pilot but fail to give the helper a breathalyzer test before take-off.
An otherwise educated, experienced, and competent pilot will probably not do a good job of driving the airplane if he's drunk. In the case of a financial co-pilot - drunk with ignorance, arrogance, lack of ethics, greed, etc. The really polite, well dressed, charismatic "talking head" behind the desk in the hiring interview may be a classic "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" enigma. When the flight becomes turbulent, this co-pilot will be either little help or he will offer advice that aggravates the emergency.
One of the little chuncks of Wisdom of the Ages in the equity markets is:
"Bulls get rich and Bears get rich but Pigs get slaughtered."
For those to whom the meaning is not obvious: Bulls are those who believe the stock market will rise in value and make investment decisions accordingly; which result in profits. Bears are investors who believe the markets will decline and make investments to profit from this situation. Pigs, on the other hand let greed (a pervasive and dangerous human emotion) guide their investment decisions and, while they get fat sometimes, they eventually wind up as bacon on someone's breakfast table.
Bulls are not always correct in their estimate of the financial climate but they use tried and true methods to avoid a disaster that might result from their erroneous estimates. Bears use similar methods to weather an unexpected storm. Like a drunk pilot, greed (the alcohol of the investment world) has clouded the Pig's judgement to the point he ignores the "Wisdom of the Ages."
Be a Bull sometimes. Become a Bear when necessary. If you don't know exactly how to fly that flight plan, hire a sober co-pilot. Never get greedy or deal with greedy people.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Somewhere in the Middle
We need each other. Now, I'm no anthropologist; and I don't even play one on TV, but my observations of humanity indicate that there are very few real hermits among homo sapiens. Aside from the fact that I need all sorts of others to furnish me food, electricity, gasoline, and toys, I need others around - at least from time to time - with whom to share my thoughts. The necessity of living together - not just in the same house but in the same city, state, country, or planet - dictates the establishment of rules and the responsibility to abide by them.
Prohibitions against homocide, theft, and other actions deemed by our society to be counterproductive to the goals of living together harmoneously. I don't believe a significant number of human respondants would answer positively to the question: "Should we legalize all forms of homocide." I don't believe very many of us would agree that it's ok to steal a motorcycle even from someone we don't know. As our society evolves and becomes seemingly more complicated, however, the definitions of, for instance, homocide and theft become less clear.
If someone were to intentionally kill a 2 year-old child they would have committed homocide and would have violated society's rules. The debate rages on in our society, however, when a mother and her doctor conspire to end the life of an unborn child.
Abortion is just one of the many ethical debates in which our society is engaged. There are adamant proponents on both sides of the issue, who claim to hold the "proper" opinion and who believe a single rule should be established for all in society to embrace. Until the debate is concluded, those with strong opinions are injured each time an abortion is performed or each time a mother is denied the opportunity to chose the fate of her unborn.
If there were only two sides to this issue, it would be easy to end the debate: 50% + 1 would do it and those on the "losing side" would have the obligation to abide by the wishes of the majority. As with most complicated ethical issues, however, there are at least two more "sides" to the debate. Today, the ballot would have to include a box to check for: "I don't care" and for "I can't comprehend the issue." Unfortunately, these two latter positions would probably garner a lot more than 50% + 1 of the vote and that is the reason the issue has not yet been settled.
I must confess that being in the middle of the road on this issue is comfortable. I don't have to expend a lot of mental energy defending my position and I don't have to alienate my friends who have a strong opinion one way or the other. Realizing that my silence is delaying the day when we'll get this debate behind us, I've decided to speak out and I urge all the others who are comfortable in the middle of the road to get onto one side or the other and take a few of the rocks being tossed from the opposing side. It is our obligation to help society resolve the issue.
Abortion is wrong!
If homocide is wrong, and a child becomes a human being at the moment of conception, how can we view abortion as anything less than the taking of a human life.
Prohibitions against homocide, theft, and other actions deemed by our society to be counterproductive to the goals of living together harmoneously. I don't believe a significant number of human respondants would answer positively to the question: "Should we legalize all forms of homocide." I don't believe very many of us would agree that it's ok to steal a motorcycle even from someone we don't know. As our society evolves and becomes seemingly more complicated, however, the definitions of, for instance, homocide and theft become less clear.
If someone were to intentionally kill a 2 year-old child they would have committed homocide and would have violated society's rules. The debate rages on in our society, however, when a mother and her doctor conspire to end the life of an unborn child.
Abortion is just one of the many ethical debates in which our society is engaged. There are adamant proponents on both sides of the issue, who claim to hold the "proper" opinion and who believe a single rule should be established for all in society to embrace. Until the debate is concluded, those with strong opinions are injured each time an abortion is performed or each time a mother is denied the opportunity to chose the fate of her unborn.
If there were only two sides to this issue, it would be easy to end the debate: 50% + 1 would do it and those on the "losing side" would have the obligation to abide by the wishes of the majority. As with most complicated ethical issues, however, there are at least two more "sides" to the debate. Today, the ballot would have to include a box to check for: "I don't care" and for "I can't comprehend the issue." Unfortunately, these two latter positions would probably garner a lot more than 50% + 1 of the vote and that is the reason the issue has not yet been settled.
I must confess that being in the middle of the road on this issue is comfortable. I don't have to expend a lot of mental energy defending my position and I don't have to alienate my friends who have a strong opinion one way or the other. Realizing that my silence is delaying the day when we'll get this debate behind us, I've decided to speak out and I urge all the others who are comfortable in the middle of the road to get onto one side or the other and take a few of the rocks being tossed from the opposing side. It is our obligation to help society resolve the issue.
Abortion is wrong!
If homocide is wrong, and a child becomes a human being at the moment of conception, how can we view abortion as anything less than the taking of a human life.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
The Journey Begins
Blogging seems to be the rage today. I used to think of blogs as personal diaries posted for the world to see. Why would anyone want to share their personal feelings and experiences with anyone, much less perfect strangers? Why would these people have such an ego to think that more than a few others would read their crap anyway? I guess I found out that not all, or not very many, anyway, blogs are that way.
I've begun to view them as a way to release opinions and say things that might get read by others while realizing that it isn't the popularity of the words that matters as much as it is the feeling of relief that a "public" rant provides.
So, the journey begins. We'll see where the destination lies and what kind of scenery we can find along the way.
I've begun to view them as a way to release opinions and say things that might get read by others while realizing that it isn't the popularity of the words that matters as much as it is the feeling of relief that a "public" rant provides.
So, the journey begins. We'll see where the destination lies and what kind of scenery we can find along the way.
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