Drawing lines

Technology is a wonderful thing! In my opinion, technology is what separates us from other animals, not brains or opposable thumbs. If it hadn't been for technology, we'd still be cavemen! I don't really understand people who say they hate technology.....on their blogs! Ironic, isn't it? Needless to say, we're so deep into technology that living without it is impossible. Technology is a way of life, not an option. I have seen Amish with cell phones and laptops (they use wireless technology, not wired, like telephones), and this definitely means something!

As we all know, even the best things can become the worst if we don't use it wisely.....which almost always happens. So my question is, where do we draw the lines? Take biology, for example. We have come a very long way in knowing about our genes but we still have a very long way to go. Today, we have human-animal hybrids, a.k.a. chimeras, thanks to stem cell research. We have pigs with human blood so that certain organs can be harvested, and we have embryonic stem cells that can be used to fight diseases. In the near future, we'd be able to select what type of babies we want - we'll be able to select its eyes, its sex, even its personality! We have come so far that we don't even need men to create sperm!

So where do we draw the lines? Should we continue with stem cell research so that people with chronic ailments can have a shot at living a better life? If only things were black & white! Unfortunately, this dilemma doesn't have a solution, and therefore, we need to draw lines. In one of my classes, we were asked how we'd feel if one could select the personality of an unborn child. What do you think about the concept of choosing one personality over the other for your baby? What would you do if you could pick and choose the types of things you want in your baby, choose how she/he would look and feel?

The answer is pretty simple. I am totally against the ban on stem cell research, because if we can help someone live a better life, we should! But when it comes to topic of choosing your child's characteristics, I get a little iffy. In my opinion, being born with such characteristics is a matter of chance, but when we can select those very characteristics, we mess with nature more than we should! Imagine a world full of people with only pleasant characteristics who look similar...no diversity! Wouldn't that get boring? Is that how we're supposed to be? It reminds of that song by Malvina Reynolds,Little Boxes.... "and they came out all the same".

The other thing is that if we allow parents to choose their offsprings' physical and psychological characteristics, we'd be giving them way too much power. I could opt for a kid with Hitler's personality, or worse, Dubya's intelligence!! What if your kid hates you for choosing his physical characterisitcs? I know that nurture also plays an important role in how a child will grow up, but taking away the chance part is pretty disturbing in itself! Also, this choosing thing could be applicable to only those who can afford it and not others. This agains leads to inequality and imbalance because what this would mean is that only those with enough money can have "perfect" children with pleasant personalities, which in turn, could lead to further imbalance.

Finally, you also need to think about in terms of different cultures. There are certain cultures that value males over females, and they wish to have only male children. If such parents are able to choose the sex of their child, it could lead to extreme imbalance in this world. The female-to-male ratio in one of the states in India is about 927:1000. In China, it's about 100:120. What does this mean? In a nutshell, we're messing with nature! On a larger scale, women can be more selective in choosing partners!! But seriously, this could lead to many problems in future, including stress and other psychological problems.

Thus, technology isn't bad per se, we make it what it is! Our ancestors had a choice, we have the choice, let's try to keep it that way for generations to come!