From Madly by Tristan Prettyman:
madly madly madly
well if you really love me,
when you see me leavin' baby, just let me go
Because sometimes letting go is truly the kindest thing you can do. (And because I like the song, which has been in my head all day.)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Clone this...
So have you read the story about the woman who had her dead dog cloned? If not, click here.
Unfortunately, I can't find the story I read originally. The one that included all of the sketchy information on the scientists involved. The one that mentions that this woman sold her house to raise the money to have her dog cloned. But I did find the article that talks about the woman's nutty and possibly criminal background. This one has the bit about her lying even now about who she is and about her handing out fake business cards.
But this nutcase aside, what about the cloning of dogs?
I have to say, I disagree with it. Though I can at least see the argument that's being made about cloning service dogs, I'm still not swayed. And I don't even understand the idea of cloning a pet. It's not your pet. You can't bring your pet back to life.
I could never clone my dog. The clone would look like him, but there's no way his personality could be cloned. He was 3 (at least, that was the "guess") when I adopted him. He'd been in the shelter for nearly a month and had been on the street for who knows how long before that. And then before that, he appears to have been with someone who did actually take good care of him and treated him well. But a clone? I'd have the clone from puppyhood which would mean its first 3 years would be totally and completely different, and so it would not be my Abe. And even if I had had Abe since he was just a pup, my life is so different now than it was 3 years ago and I'm so different than I was 3 years ago that I could not possibly replicate the exact same environment. And what is true for people is true for our dogs as well: much of our personality is shaped by our environment.
So the bottom line is, you're just not getting the same dog.
As for the question about which is more humane, breeding and breeding and breeding trying to get another dog like yours or just cloning yours, well, neither! Go to the darn shelter and get a different dog!
And all of that aside, there's the slippery slope argument. The question of what's next (which actually kind of scares me at this point!).
Finally, the part about the whole situation that I find the most disturbing is the "factory" feel of it that comes from the not particularly friendly competition between the two researchers and their respective labs. Check out their histories. These do not appear to be nice guys who are interested in bettering the world with their scientific skills. Instead they seem to be two dueling scientists with grudges against one another, each trying to top the other. I think it says something that the two men doing this have such shady (and downright illegal) pasts.
Cloning isn't just an issue of accepting new technology. I'm all for it in terms of cloning organs and cells and such in order to help with disease. But whole beings? Besides the fact that it's still too new for us to truly know of any long-term issues (we've gotten way too good at rushing science and technology into the marketplace, only to recall it when it's shown to be harmful in one way or another), it's way too... I can't even think of a word for it! If we keep cloning animals, someone will start working to clone humans (if they're not already...). And that is not a road that we should travel.
Technology is an awesome thing and with it comes an awesome responsibility. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.
If/when cloning becomes a normal thing to do, what about all of us "imperfect" specimens ("imperfect" in terms of abilities, intelligence, appearance, health, you name it)? How much value would we have in a world where we could be brushed aside in favor of a more perfect clone? Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I see human cloning being used as a way to "strengthen" mankind; a way to help Darwin out, if you will. After all, why would you clone me, for instance, with my imperfect vision and my allergies and all of my other "weaknesses"? Those "flaws" cost money. It's hard to argue that the more sensible thing to do is to clone, say, my brother (with his perfect vision and lack of allergies, etc., etc). Granted if it's a male/female numbers thing, this example doesn't work. But you get the idea.
And THAT is a path that I think is very, very dangerous. Again, just because we have the ability to do something doesn't mean we should run with it.
For some reason, we just continue to fail to realize that when our technology and science get to be too powerful, it has a tendency to come back and bite us all in the butt. We are not at all good at keeping our ethics up to date with our science.
Unfortunately, I can't find the story I read originally. The one that included all of the sketchy information on the scientists involved. The one that mentions that this woman sold her house to raise the money to have her dog cloned. But I did find the article that talks about the woman's nutty and possibly criminal background. This one has the bit about her lying even now about who she is and about her handing out fake business cards.
But this nutcase aside, what about the cloning of dogs?
I have to say, I disagree with it. Though I can at least see the argument that's being made about cloning service dogs, I'm still not swayed. And I don't even understand the idea of cloning a pet. It's not your pet. You can't bring your pet back to life.
I could never clone my dog. The clone would look like him, but there's no way his personality could be cloned. He was 3 (at least, that was the "guess") when I adopted him. He'd been in the shelter for nearly a month and had been on the street for who knows how long before that. And then before that, he appears to have been with someone who did actually take good care of him and treated him well. But a clone? I'd have the clone from puppyhood which would mean its first 3 years would be totally and completely different, and so it would not be my Abe. And even if I had had Abe since he was just a pup, my life is so different now than it was 3 years ago and I'm so different than I was 3 years ago that I could not possibly replicate the exact same environment. And what is true for people is true for our dogs as well: much of our personality is shaped by our environment.
So the bottom line is, you're just not getting the same dog.
As for the question about which is more humane, breeding and breeding and breeding trying to get another dog like yours or just cloning yours, well, neither! Go to the darn shelter and get a different dog!
And all of that aside, there's the slippery slope argument. The question of what's next (which actually kind of scares me at this point!).
Finally, the part about the whole situation that I find the most disturbing is the "factory" feel of it that comes from the not particularly friendly competition between the two researchers and their respective labs. Check out their histories. These do not appear to be nice guys who are interested in bettering the world with their scientific skills. Instead they seem to be two dueling scientists with grudges against one another, each trying to top the other. I think it says something that the two men doing this have such shady (and downright illegal) pasts.
Cloning isn't just an issue of accepting new technology. I'm all for it in terms of cloning organs and cells and such in order to help with disease. But whole beings? Besides the fact that it's still too new for us to truly know of any long-term issues (we've gotten way too good at rushing science and technology into the marketplace, only to recall it when it's shown to be harmful in one way or another), it's way too... I can't even think of a word for it! If we keep cloning animals, someone will start working to clone humans (if they're not already...). And that is not a road that we should travel.
Technology is an awesome thing and with it comes an awesome responsibility. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.
If/when cloning becomes a normal thing to do, what about all of us "imperfect" specimens ("imperfect" in terms of abilities, intelligence, appearance, health, you name it)? How much value would we have in a world where we could be brushed aside in favor of a more perfect clone? Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I see human cloning being used as a way to "strengthen" mankind; a way to help Darwin out, if you will. After all, why would you clone me, for instance, with my imperfect vision and my allergies and all of my other "weaknesses"? Those "flaws" cost money. It's hard to argue that the more sensible thing to do is to clone, say, my brother (with his perfect vision and lack of allergies, etc., etc). Granted if it's a male/female numbers thing, this example doesn't work. But you get the idea.
And THAT is a path that I think is very, very dangerous. Again, just because we have the ability to do something doesn't mean we should run with it.
For some reason, we just continue to fail to realize that when our technology and science get to be too powerful, it has a tendency to come back and bite us all in the butt. We are not at all good at keeping our ethics up to date with our science.
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