Firstly, I would like to introduce the quote that I try to live my life by. It was first brought to me during the summer of 2009 when I was depressed about a rather unfortunate athletic injury. My mommy tried pretty much everything she could do in attempts to cheer me up, but I was just bitter and angry about life and couldn’t be bothered. One day as I was checking my e-mail, I saw that she had sent me a link to some inspirational video as she tends to do rather often. It was from there that I discovered some food for thought that helped me get through the summer and even now, still has a heavy influence in my life on a day-to-day basis. As stated by Vivian Greene:
“Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass,
It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
http://www.danceintherainmovie.com/miami/
You may be thinking that I’ve gotten extremely off topic talking about dancing in the rain and whatnot, but if you take time to ponder over the quote, you’ll see how it relates to A LOT in life, and even this whole “designer babies” ordeal.
In life, you may not always get dealt the perfect hand, but you A L W A Y S need to learn how to make the best of it. We’ve all said something about wishing we were better, smarter, “cooler”, prettier, more popular, etc.. but that’s not what life is about. Instead of dwelling on our imperfections waiting for the story to pass, we need to make the best of what we were given by God, and appreciate everything that we have, making the best of our situations dancing in the rain. Get it now?
ANYWAYYSSS, back to these “perfect babies” *eyeroll.. I truly believe that the capability of humans to modify genes is an incredible scientific breakthrough, but I am 100% against it. No one is perfect or SHOULD be perfect, so why are humans trying so hard to make it this way? “Everything happens for a reason”, and I think that altering genes goes against this saying, which in my opinion is immoral and ethically wrong.
The ability that humans are being presented with to create their perfect offspring is actually pretty depressing. What’s wrong with just taking what you get and understand that all babies are blessings from God? I do understand that the purpose of genetic modification is initially to cure diseases and reduce suffering found with hereditary disorders (such as Huntington’s chorea, Cystic Fibrosis, and Muscular Dystrophy) but let’s be logical here. We live in a competitive and shallow world and that’s just what it is sorry for the reality check to anyone who thinks otherwise. When people realize that there are ways to have the best, smartest, prettiest, fastest ;), healthiest, etc.. babies, this priviledge will be most certainly be abused and if you think otherwise please find the nearest exit from the bubble you’ve been living in. Even if the intentions of some are genuine, modifying genes is just wrong on so many levels. Children are gifts from God and should be loved unconditionally regardless.
Usain Bolt; The fastest man EVERR! Point #1: If this man was genetically manipulated he would not have, nor would he deserve the amount of recognition he has now. Point #2: He wasn't genetically altered and look how well it worked out for him.
As mentioned previously, modifying the genes of children is not just for cosmetic purposes, but was intended for medical purposes as well. I can admit that I do see the principle behind the idea of genetic modification, but I do not think that there are enough reasons to justify it. In 2004 I was told that one of my closest family members was diagnosed with breast cancer. It is said that cancer is heredity and is caused by a genetic mutation. In this case, altering a specific gene could potentially save lives and could have saved a particular one of my family members a lot of pain. With this in mind, there hasn’t been a history of cancer for many generations prior, which brings up the mystery of where the disease came from. This has given me my “everything happens for a reason” attitude towards a lot in life. Gene therapy could have helped my family member and many other people coping with this fatal disease, but in return, her diagnosis of has only made her, as well as the rest of my family a lot stronger. Even after being personally touched by the effects of heredity disorders, my opinion towards “designer babies” remains the same.
Okay... Can we just be realistic for 2 seconds?! Before considering this the greatest and most useful scientific advance, we need to stop being so naive and pause ever so briefly to consider the moral and ethnic limits of society. Modifying the genes of future generations is just a horrible idea. Everything given to us at birth is a gift, and we should appreciate whatever we have. Instead of considering how we could be closer to perfect, we have to be satisfied with who we are. The only way you can get close to perfection if there is even such a thing, is through the knowledge that comes from age. Learning and making your own mistakes makes you a wiser person, which is something to be valued. Everything that happens is for a reason, and by alternating genes to avoid such happenings ultimately makes the subjects “superhuman”. Designer babies are N O T humans!! They’re N O T natural and are practically lab experiments!!
Designer baby! ^^ (no seriously.. why can't I just alter my genes so my children can fly..)
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the best word to describe the people who partake in genetic mutation would be ignorant. Genetic manipulations are immoral and ethically wrong on SOOO many levels. Am I any less of a person because I have natural brown eyes, as opposed to a child that has genetically manipulated blue eyes? Am I any less of a person because I have as bad eyesight? Asthma? Long legs? DIDN’T THINK SO! Soooo really people, just deal with what you are given, take it as a blessing from above, and learn to “dance in the rain” while you're at it.
http://medicineworld.org/cancer/page15.html
http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/agar.html
http://encefalus.com/general/dark-knight-psychology/
I mean c’moooon.. I wasn’t genetically mutated and look how great I turned out :)
Sweet post. I actually agree with you completely. People these days are getting worse with their crap.. I see modifying genes to create the "perfect" baby soo selfish and morally unethical. I don't see how the pros of creating a designer baby can possibly outweigh the cons, not to mention the potential side effects.
ReplyDeleteAt least some people (you and I) understand the seriousness involved in doing something so ridiculous.
Ever thought about being a motivational speaker Sheereen? *resisting from using smiley face* This is actually more uplifting than I would expect from a bio blog.
ReplyDeleteI really like your small point about Usain Bolt. It shows that we humans ARE 'super humans' without the help of science.
Though I agree humans should not be given the right to change the cosmetics of their child. I would totally be for using science to avoid disorders. A family friend of mine has 3 sons, 2 of them has autism. We love them unconditionally regardless, no doubt, but their lives are extremely difficult. They are ridiculed at school and ousted by their classmates. Knowing this now, if I could, I would try to change their situation. Do you get my drift?
Yes tammy, I do get your drift, but to be completely honest with you I still am against scientific intervening. Im sorry to hear about your family friends, but I wouldn't agree with changing their genes. As by reading my blog im sure you would realize that I'm a strong believer of "everything happening for a reason". They were put on this earth autistic for a reason. They probably just have yet to realize this. Im sure they've touched your life, as well as the lives of others, and you can't worry about the ignorance in some people because they're just not worth it.
ReplyDeleteI know it must hurt to see the riducule they endure, but the fact is that they are no less of humans because of their autism and we are surely no superior to them because we don't have this disorder. Make the best of the situation and "dance in the ran" (: g'day.
Sheereen, I absolutely love your blog! It is so nicely put together, and I like the way you related it to the quote that you live your life by, which by the way is a very nice quote! "Instead of dwelling on our imperfections, waiting for the storm to pass, we need to make the best of what we were given by God, and appreciate everything that we have, making the best of our situations, dancing in the rain." I absolutely, 100 percent agree with this. There are people in this world who are so caught up with the way they look that they dont realize all of the other things that God has given us and blessed us with.
ReplyDeleteYour blog includes a perfect amount of information and is easy for anyone to understand. I totally agree with you that genetically designing our babies is stupid! You're right, nobody is perfect and nobody should be perfect. We are all created in the image of God and should be happy with who we are. I also like the way you related this to Usain Bolt! He wasn't genetically engineered and he turned out to be the fastest person on earth!
The way you ended your blog was great! It really left the readers thinking about 'designer babies.' We should all be thankful for what God has given us and accept who we are! Once again, well done on your blog, I really enjoyed reading it!
CUPCAKEEEE! Your blog is excellent! Im sorry to hear about your mother and wish her all the best throughout her life. I quoted your "DANCE IN THE RAIN" in my blog, so thanks a million for helping me, to this day, I live by that quote :).
ReplyDeleteI liked how you pointed out extraordinary people such as Usain Bolt, to explain why it is not necessary to be alter. He is normal, and he sets UNBELIEVABLE world records. It doesn't make you a better person if you change your eye color or hair.
Although, altering your children can be OK based on Tammy Nguyen's situation. Some mother who have cancer, colorblindness or if they are mute, can be fixed. Other than that, I don't think altering your children is morally right. We are created in God's image, and we should appreciate what he has given us.
<4 Wonderful blog.
Hey Sheereen! Great blog, I completely agree. I wouldn't turn to genetic modification for any reason at all. I agree that we are perfectly imperfect and that's what makes us human. By being genetically modified to our best (selfish) wishes we are somehow, in my opinion less human. We aren't natural anymore. We are no longer made in God's image.
ReplyDeleteAnother good point you have is not changing ourselves even with the reason of a serious disorder. I think that without suffering we will not have an accurate image of what is good in the world and what we should be thankful for!
Ps. I'd love you no matter what your eye colour is. ;)
Great Blog! I agree completely on the fact that Usain Bolt should not get the recognition that he gets if he was made a designer baby. He should not be rewarded gold medals for the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay. Also the fact that he holds the world recrod for the 100m should not be accounted if he was made a designer babies. If designer babies were made athletes or made smart while others are unatheletic and not as smart, it will be cheating. The parents will probably just be paying more for the better characteristics. Thus, designer baby studying should not be continued.
ReplyDeleteHey Sheereen, great blog! Your opinion on designer babies is very unique, I never imagined it from such a viewpoint. I completely understand where you're coming from, but honestly, just like you said, everything happens for a reason. Maybe this area of genetics was meant to go this far then, and the consequences of our actions will strengthen humanity? Everyone's entitled to an opinion, so here's mine: I don't agree that for things that can affect peoples' lives as negatively as genetic disorders is something many people can just live with. The reality is when the technology is out there, and some people will abuse it. Others will use it to get rid of a genetic disorder in their child, and personally, I'd rather make use of this technology that could help my child have a much better life. I think many people would agree with you, and many with me as well, but I see nothing wrong with your viewpoint, I actually admire it for the strength it takes to say I don't care if my child has a genetic disorder, I'll love him just the same and he'll have a great life. Let's hope others will learn to 'Dance in the rain' of this genetic debate, and come out stronger people.
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