The President has reversed the prior administration's ruling on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. This has many people thinking we can finally have the research we need on embryonic stem cells. Interestingly, though, private funding--those who choose to have their money used for this purpose--was never affected by the Bush Administration's ban. Only those labs seeking
taxpayer money were limited. Anyone who felt so strongly about this issue that they were willing to put up
their own money, was always able to do so. The issue here was and is taxpayer money--yours and mine. So now, those who believe the ends justify the means have gotten their way, and we all get to pick up the tab.
On to the vocab section...
The President said:
"Medical miracles do not happen simply by accident. They result from painstaking and costly research from years of lonely trial and error, much of which never bears fruit and from a government willing to support that work," Mr. Obama said as he signed an executive order and a memorandum overturning Mr. Bush's 2001 policy.
Point of order, Mr. President. A "miracle" is not something that is painstakenly ground out through man's sweat and government funding. A "miracle" is
mir-a-cle /mir-ə-kəl/ [mir-uh-kuhl]
–noun 1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
3. a wonder; marvel.
As such, then, it is not possible to use the word "miracle" and have it be an accurate description of the events Mr. Obama sees on the horizon of stem cell research. Now, I don't want to be a
Keith Olberman, here, but words mean things. And words from presidents mean a lot.
Time for history. (And a shout out to the importance of worldview.)
Values and beliefs determined by the culture create people like OJ Simpson. He has surrounded himself with his own culture and everyone in it believes he is innocent. -Ish. The problem in that example is obvious--the guy is guilty and has delude himself and his hangers-on that he is not. The same thing happens in any belief system that is not rooted in timeless truth. Everyone agrees about what is right, wrong, good and bad. The only problem is, it doesn't have anything to do with what is
actually right/wrong/good/bad. It is based on the majority opinion.
"Majority rules", seems downright American. And it is. But think about what that has meant for our nation. Slavery. Women not able to vote, or be landowners. A husband's right to hit his wife. School segregation. These were all held as majority opinions. It was the
minority who based their arguments on
fundamental rights given by their creator, who caused the majority opinion to change.
And though majority opinions do change, the actual rightness or wrongness of something does not. When we have a sitting president who bases his decisions on the popular attitude of the times, we are making huge strides
backward as a nation. Not very progressive, is it?
Of course, I have to end this post with the verse that begs to be shared:
Ephesians 4
13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
