You tell her. Because I can't.

[The Straight Story]

She is my daughter, she posts here as HannahBana.

Tell her why for years we banned stem cell research - which would have help her mom who has Parkinson's.

Explain to her why we let people torture others. Because that whole concept is foreign to her.

She is a little girl with simple dreams. She loves kitties. She loves spending time here with daddy, because I let her be her, but her mom often can't - and that is not a slam on her mom, she just has issues relating to her disease that takes away from her ability to be to her who she used to be.

She has two half brothers who will soon be heading to war. She looks up to my youngest son Zach, and does not understand it all when it comes to him going to the army and being gone for a long time.

She does not understand why when she is not feeling well we can't just go to the doctor, but when the house is on fire or someone is breaking in she can call 911. Why can't she call 911 when mommy or her are sick?

She does not get why when mommy is sick she stays with me, and I get sad. I stay home from work to care for her, and could well lose my job over it.

Her view on the world is that people are going to be nice to each other, that when someone is sick they get care. When daddy stays home from work to make sure she is taken care of I get paid and can still get her the simple little things she wants/needs.

She has a simple view of the world - that we all love each other and do what we can to help one another.

And it is a view I desired myself. Somewhere that desire has gotten lost. I may well be wrong on certain issues, my views might be old school to some - but I have always believed that we needed to stick together, help one another, and do the right thing for each other.

It was, I thought, a progressive view.

Health care for all, holding those in power accountable for their actions. Ending these wars. Making sure that poor people had a lifeline instead of us just giving the rich folks and banks one.

You tell her why we don't have such things. Because I can't.

I can't tell her that we might have such things later. That we might get health care for all somewhere down the road, but right now we are too busy to. I can't tell her that we won't bring people to justice who tortured people because we need to move on and that some crimes are ok if done in the name of the US.

I can't face her and make excuses. I can't just sit her and tell her it is all about politics, keeping powder dry, etc. I can't look at her and tell her gays serving in the military is considered bad while racists serving there is ok.

She wants to grow up in a better world than this.

She is depending on us to give it to her.

You tell her why we aren't.

This, to me, is not about DU vs FR, it is not about RW vs LW. It is about us coming together and getting those in power to do what is right and good.

So I go back to my title - you tell her why we don't, because I can't.

I just cannot bring myself to make excuses for torture, taking away rights people have, condoning wars we once fought so hard against etc.

[Occam Bandage]

1. Because a great number of people in America believe

that human life and thus personhood begins at conception. As such, an embryonic stem-cell line is to them ethically indistinguishable from cloning dozens of children to murder for their valuable organs; most ethicists of all stripes believe that it is immoral to use a person as a means to an end regardless of how desirable that end might be. I would think that coming to the conclusion that the concerns of a single-celled organism ought override the concerns of a fully-realized human would be cause to reconsider some of the assumptions that one has made, but hey. Ethics aren't the point exactly.

Rather, that ethical question is used as a mark of cultural identification, much as your statement about gays in the military is--you do not bring it up because you are directly concerned about whether homosexuals are able to be open about their sexual preferences while being a member of the military, but rather you bring it up because of what that signifies to you. To you, DADT is an emblem of the modern struggle for universal cultural acceptance, which you strongly identify with. Similarly, to the religious right, stem cells are an emblem of their struggle for a Godly society, which they identify with just as strongly. It is fortunate, I think, that at the moment we are winning every cultural fight I can think of.

[Ken Burch]

8. The Catholic Church could probably make this an abortion-free society

if they only did this(which would, of course, require modifying their Luddite position on reproductive technology):

They could agree to offer any woman with an unwanted pregnancy an complimentary embryo removal(the embryo to be transplanted to someone else). Presumably, Catholic laywomen with strong pro-life convictions could then carry the embryos to term and raise them as their own. They could even set up orders of nuns who's mission would be to give birth to the transplanted embryos(when they became too old for this task, they could take on other responsibilities that would be required to run these orders).

But I don't see the Church doing this anytime soon, because they are way too fixated at the moment on reminding women of "their place" and on keeping sex a shame- and fear-based act.

[truedelphi]

10. I used to joke about this all the time

When I was much younger and concerned about possible over-fertility.

Let the young fertile women have monthly operations to remove their little zygotes. Send them off in ice cube trays to those who want more babies.

It's really true that these days, it is no longer a joke. It could actually be a do-able procedure.

[Liberal813]

11. The goals we must pursue

In the aftermath of 8 years of the Bush administration, we must now make a concerted effort to right the injustices that exist in our society. Although there will never be unanimity on all of the ethical issues we face; there is currently a window of opportunity for change. Future generations will judge us by the decisions we make today.

[omega minimo]

2. Because corporate power trumps all

[Occam Bandage]

4. Stem cells are a gold mine waiting to be tapped.

This is one case (of many) in which the religious wing is at direct odds with the economic wing of the Republican party. Generally speaking, those two agree on absolutely nothing but their dislike of Democrats. They wouldn't even be in the same party if not for the fact that they need to in order to survive politically.

[Maru Kitteh]

6. It will (probably) take 30 years to realize that promise, once the tap is truly let upen.

We're behind, but it's not impossible to catch up. Unfortunately for those who suffer now, we will not be able to sprint fast enough.

If I found myself in such a position I would spend my days shouting to the ends of the earth, SEE THIS! THIS is what stem-cell research can stop. I would have my most mundane, my most challenging and even degrading moments filmed, and I would donate my body to research.

All of this pisses me off, it could only be increased exponentially if it were befallen to me.

[B o d i]

3. Some people are bad people, and good guys finish last? Is that what you want? nt

nt

[hfojvt]

5. Welcome to the earth, 3rd rock from the sun

"It's cold, it's cruel, it's dirty, and it's full of people who hate you and are mean to you just because you are different." Tracy Ullman

But that's only the bad side. Often there is kindness and love, albeit temporary love, beauty, laughter, ice cream, puppies, butterflies and pizza, among other good things. A better world than this? It's not the best of all possible worlds. Not by a long shot, but I think it is better, in many ways than it was when I was seven years old (1969).

Sometimes we don't have what you want, or what I want, because other people want different things. It would be easier if this was a dictatorship, especially if I was the dictator, but we have to pull for the things we want and hope we win the tug of war.

[Ken Burch]

9. The last lines of "Desiderata" summed up nicely what you expressed in those first two graphs:

"With all its shams, drudgeries and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world".

[omega minimo]

14. It's the most beautiful planet on Earth

:hi:

[Oldtimeralso]

7. Because Money Is Not Made From Curing Disease, But From Treating It n/t

[MrSlayer]

12. How old is this kid that you want us to burden with harsh reality?

I don't know that I would make a kid worry about any of this shit right now. Especially things about torture and war. She should be going to school, watching Spongebob and playing with dolls. You know, just being a kid. Let her keep her innocence as long as she can, there is plenty of time for the real world to ruin her outlook.

[Wednesdays]

13. Kicked and Rec'd

:kick:

[southerncrone]

15. Nor can I tell her, because it pains me too much to think our country

has devolved to the level it did during * & Darth. That the great political machine in the United States will steam-roll over its citizens because certain sectors have more $ & lobbyists does not make sense to the innocent. And rightly so.....because innocents demand truth.....and we cannot become whole until we seek the truth & demand that it gets justice, justice for the innocents.

Terrific post, BTW. :thumbsup: