Tuesday, May 27, 2014

In the article, "Designer Babies", by Patricia Smith, the article deals with the idea that people are getting the options of making your baby a certain way, like tall, athletic, smart, or other desirable characteristics. The children grow up with these characteristics, but a huge question that is controversial is that, is it morally fine, to make your children, who are living beings, a special way. This is viewed as a very controversial subject in the west but not a very controversial subject in china, where people are persuing this idea, and trying to learn much more about it.

Eugenics are the study that currently caused this issue. They are a very controversial topic, and the eugenics movement sought to improve the human race by discouraging people who have undesirable traits to reproduce. However, this was what led to the holocaust. This meant that all of the people who were gassed, tossed into fire, or shot would have been alive by then. This was a attempt to make people more perfect, just like the idea of designer babies. This is completely ignoring the accomplishments we earned earlier.

The study of changing these genes is a very unknown area, and it could be incredibly dangerous for us. Many states have completely banned the idea of using science for anyway that will permanently alter you're offspring. However the united states has no such law. I believe that this is too dangerous and that offspring should not be altered. Humans should not be genetically altered. If science becomes an important part of us, than we will have even more dependence on scientists.

If we get the children the way we want them, than we will be less tolerant of them and want them to be just right. I believe that we should be investing in more important things. Kids being special do necessarily take an advantage over things that could be more important. These genomes may seem important, but it does not take priority over other more pressing needs like hurricane relief, and ways to help developing country.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Romeo and Juliet

In “Romeo and Juliet”,a play by William Shakespeare, the 2 main characters both died in the end due to a series of events, and a feud between two British families, the Montagues and that capulets. Many people were two blame for this tragedy, but Friar Lawrence helped cause the tragic death of these two lovers. The friar allowed everything to escalate quickly, and it caused the relationship to spin out of control.

The friar made a secret marriage for the two lovers. He made it a day after the love began. This in itself allowed for no second thoughts, and immediately made it so that the marriage was quickly in a point of no return. He and the nurse married them together, believing that it might end the feud. Sadly this was a huge mistake because it made the couple believe that their marriage was the right thing because of the fact that the friar and the nurse supported it, and those were the two people they trusted most. It was foolish of the couple to get married so quickly, and the two of them were progressing their marriage so quickly that both people had no control over the situation. If they were a little slower, the 4 people might of had enough control over the situation to change it.

Juliet came to the Friar for advice because of the fact that she was going to be married to County Paris against her will. The friar came up with the only possible solution he could think of which was a poison that makes her temporarily dead. Sadly he did not watch over the tomb well enough, and romeo entered in it without his knowledge. If he took the time to streamline what was happening Romeo would not have committed suicide. If Juliet did not find Romeo dead, than she would not have killed herself. County Paris died in a duel against Romeo, and if the Friar had told him in person what was happening, than maybe the death would not be necessary, and another person would survive. On top of all of the dying, lady Montague killed herself because she found out that her son died.
When the Friar finds Juliet waking in the tomb, he says that he could take her to a area where she could become a nun. But however, when she says that she will stay, the friar does not object at all, and leaves. What this leaving meant is that Juliet would kill herself without the doubt of having someone there with her. The friar does not try to stop her from killing herself which made her even more likely to kill herself because it would be her to commit suicide if a person who dearly wants you to stay alive would be there. The friar running made a bad situation into an awful situation.


While Romeo and Juliet were both not behaving too well about the love, the friar intensified it. The Friar would constantly come up with a plan that was always messed up. His ideas were always messed up by an outside factor that no one predicted. If not for him, the marriage might have taken place later and Tybalt might not have been killed. But because of him, Mercutio was killed causing him to kill Tybalt. Once Tybalt was dead, there was no chance that the relationship would work out well. The Friar kept on trying to patch it, but he made more problems for every idea he made.