We should be so proud. Our little president just vetoed his first bill! Though the number of vetoes varies with each new president (Cleveland had 414, Adams and Jefferson, none), for a two-term president in modern-day America, Bush's record is ridiculous. It's reasonable, however, when you look at the House and the Senate.
Anyway, this is not my point. The bill the president vetoed? It was a bill expanding stem cell research. I know. He thinks they are all little babies, even though you can't see them without a microscope. They're potential humans. But so are the cells that come off in the shower. Should we remain unclean to suit Bush's ideal? Should Bush's beliefs keep the US from advancing science? I wonder if he's thought of the competition angle. China's got no problem with using stem cells. They'll clone first! They'll cure countless diseases first! Oh no! Doesn't Bush love the US? Maybe we should argue nationalistically.
The best point here is that these stem cells are not human. They will never become human. The majority of them, due to the fact that they can be used for NOTHING will be destroyed. Who benefits from that? A non-life is now in the trash. We're back to zero.
So congrats, Mr. Prez. You took a baby step. You stood up to your back-scratching yes-men in Congress. Wow. You're such a big boy. But what happens when you get Alzheimer's?
Oh, and if you ever touch the German Chancellor again, she'll use the other moves she learned in rape prevention class. Why don't you stick to massaging Tony Blair? Oh, sorry. Probably too gay for you.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Just Say No
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2 comments:
These photos are great! Our best to the President from NY in this exciting time.
I hear he's going to gather all the stem cells up in a jar and see if he can make a baby.
I agree with everything but the cells from the shower. I think you're saying that exfoliated cells are no more potentially human than embrionic stem cells - which is true. But you actually said that cells that come off in the shower are also potentially human. This, of course, is not true.
Later on in your post you make the point that, further than not being human, many stem cells will be destroyed. I think the "sanctity of human life" wagon actually sees this as part of the problem. They believe (I'm being incredibly general, here) that *life* is being created simply for experimentation and destruction. We know that this isn't "human life" with a (I hate this word) "soul", but it's definitely life.
The point I'd like to get across to these people is that the rats, monkeys, dophins, worms, insects, and other creatures used throughout the country to make our lives better all classify as "life". These people can't have it both ways. Either all life is sacred (no abortion; no capital punishment; aid to those who are suffereing, sick, addicted, poor; no animal testing; no hunting, no animal-based food; no insecticides; etc.) or there are gray areas and some life has more value than other.
It's all a matter of perspective anyway, isn't it? The chicken who keeps giving up her young probably feels pretty shitty about it - especially when you consider how she's "cooped" up. As a matter of fact, it's the fact that we place a higher value on life that already exists that opens the door for creating life that will NEVER flourish to help solve some of the world's biggest problems.
JT
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