I accept that Darwin was correct about natural selection. It is what a study of the situation shows. I accept that there is DNA and that the DNA has an impact on who we are. It is what a study of the situation shows.
What worries me is what people do with this information, from the eugenics types here in the US 100 years ago,♠ to Anton Drexler in Germany in the 1920s,♥ to people who will look at this item noted over at Renee Astee's End of Nihilism blog site and decide that something "needs to be done" to protect humanity, civilization, whatever.
Regards — Cliff
♠ See Buck v Bell for the US Supreme Court sanctioning forced sterilization. This ruling, written by Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr, stands as a blot on his reputation. This should be right up there with Dred Scott, if not higher.
♥ Leading to some of the principles behind the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) in Germany at the end of WWI.
3 comments:
There was an article published in, of all places, Scientific American, that held that there are "genetic differences" between liberals and conservatives. The basic premise is quite chilling in that it could so very easily be used for an enforced elimination of "undesireable" genotypes. For those who would cavalierly dismiss such a possibility, I suggest a thorough reading of history, especially within the US where our record of eugenics is much less than admirable.
Moreover, "science" and "scientists" are hard at work playing God with other genus species with a view to "improving" them. Of course, along the road to perfection one finds many "mistakes," some of which are intentional but secretive. One needs only to read Ken Alibek's book on his days heading up the Soviet Bioprepararat lab system....or closer to home...examine the ongoing saga of incompetence and subtrefuge that is the story of Plum Island (no...not the one in MA). There is an accumlating corpus of data that strongly suggests that the maladies such as Bird Flu, EEE, and Lyme Disease...to name a few.....had their origins in the labs of Plum Island. Our tax dollars at work...who said we don't get things for our money. Naturally, serious inquiries to the activities at Plum Island, although ostensibly managed by the USDA, are blunted in the name of "extreme national security."
Oh...well......if it's for "national security" any thing to do with genetics is ok. Be happy....don't worry. We are the "good guys." We are strong proponents of "life, libery, and the pursuit of happiness." What could possibly be wrong?
Darwin can tell us what happened, yet his theory can't predict the future. Evolution should be seen more of a historical understanding of what happened, then a to manipulate populations as we go forward.
At the moment I can't recall the article, but someone recent of a public policy maker at some think tank explaining we're obsessing about making babies. That we shouldn't worry, because the average worker is more productive then ever. Who needs more workers (humans), if workers(humans) today can do the work of five 30 years ago or be replaced by a machine.
I don't know about you, domestic inventions (like the washing machine) were't created to replace women. Rather it allows someone like me to spend more time enjoying being a human being, enjoy culture or spending time with my family.
Ask anyone who lives in a cubicle 60 hours a week, sure they get a lot done, but the work week has not decreased it just gets added to a global 24 hour schedule with conference calls to China at 1am.
The burden of the average worker is to produce so those who are dependent (retired) will have economic growth in their funds. Yet who will care for the elderly, if there are so few people and they must work to support the economy?
Sometimes people who have children are called 'breeders', yet to breed as with dogs means to seek out desirable traits. People who are open to children aren't seeking out traits, rather it's those who go route of sperm/egg donation and pay top dollar for certain genes those are the 'breeders'.
Recently Bad Catholic talked about overpopulation. It's sarcasm though is harsh. Pretty nasty, but an interesting way of handling population.
Here's the article...
The Tidal Wave of Nonsense on Demography
by Dean Baker
"The debate over the demographic trends in the United States and other wealthy countries can be described a debate between those who care about our children and those who want more of them....."
Dean Baker is an economist and Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in Washington, D.C.
These people are suppose to be smartest, yet instead of creating solutions for a healthy economy. This economist says people (always children, never adults like himself) are the problem to our woes, like highway traffic, in which population decline is a positive thing.
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