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Re: [RC] Cloning horse - Dave Smith

Diane:

Finally a bit of wisdom on this subject!  The cloning of a horse in
particular, and genetic engineering in general, is not going to cause
the world to end.  Genetic manipulation is something we humans have been
doing for at least 10,000 years.  First it was the plants we ate.  Then
the animals we hunted or competed with.  Nature never would have created
a Pekinese out of a wolf.  Only man would have done that. 

The difference between modern genetic manipulation and ancient genetic
manipulation is that 10,000 years ago, we didn't know why selecting one
gene pool over another produced superior offspring.  Today we've made a
science out of this very human behavior.

Where will this lead?  Who knows?  Will it better our existence or harm
it?  Who knows?  Did Cro-Magnum Man know what would eventually result
from his new-found abilities to shape species?  Of course not.  Should
he therefore have stopped all experimentation?  If he had, we'd still be
living in caves and huddle together in our fear of the dark.

Of course we should ask some deep, probing questions about any new
technology that has such power to change our way of life.  But don't be
paralyzed by our natural fear of change.  Embrace change.  It is what
drives us as a species.  

I don't know about you, but I like living outside the cave!

Diane Trefethen <tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 4/15/2005 8:49:35 AM >>>
Something I like to do when emotionally stirred to jump on any
bandwagon, especially 
one proclaiming that the sky is falling, is to try to view the question
from as truly 
a dispassionate position as possible.

Every era has its changes.  Since the beginning of recorded history,
humans have 
invoked the wrath of the Gods with their presumptuousness. For every
profound new 
thought, for every stroke of genius, for every step away from the past,
there have 
been foretellers of doom.  Histories of the rebelliousness of youth
written in 
ancient Latin speak as clearly to the issues of emerging into adulthood
today as they 
did then.  The Spanish Inquisition tortured and killed people who spoke
of different 
ideas and the witches of Salem fared no better.  That Earth was not the
center of the 
universe was blasphemy, electricity was magic, hypnotism was Satanic
demonism and in 
the 1950's, it was widely held that the discovery and implementations
of our then 
current understanding of atomic theory would lead us directly into WW
III and totally 
wipe out all life.

And yet... we are still here.  Better than just still here, we are
incredibly better 
off than was humanity 5000 years ago.  While many bemoan the cruelties
and avarice of 
segments of today's world, consider... all the real problems facing
us... hunger, 
disease, early death, hatred, cruelty... are old, not new.  The
difference is that 
once virtually ALL of us were at the mercy of these tortures while now,
through our 
presumptuousness, billions of us live in a world where we are
comfortable enough to 
take time to appreciate life, explore the known and the unknown, think,
dream, play.

Is the future safe and assured?  Will Islamic Jihad triumph? Will the
Internet ever 
be safe?  Will cloning become a "normal" method of reproduction? We
don't know.  But 
if we step back and ask ourselves if, in the grand scheme of things,
have we overcome 
frightening new concepts and put them to use for the betterment of our
world, I think 
the answer is yes and that suggests that our current dilemmas, as
threatening as they 
are, present us with yet more opportunies for a better world.


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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

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