Eugenics: 1. The study of methods of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding (especially as applied to human mating).
After doing some studying on German history ~ specifically seeking a correlation, if any, between Nazi Germany and attitudes held by Germans living in Germany and other countries ~ I started pondering the "science" of eugenics. We often hear of the Holocaust when we hear of the horrors of eugenics. But what we do not hear much about is the horrors it caused in the United States.
Eugenics was "invented" when the word was coined in the late 19th century by a Briton named Sir Francis Galton and it quickly spread in the U.S. among progressives and the intelligentsia. By the early 20th century, eugenics was widely accepted among the American public ~ even finding it's way into education, politics, and religion. Cousin to Charles Darwin, Galton saw eugenics as a way to evolve mankind through encouraging procreation of "desirables"(positive eugenics) and controlling the birth rates of "undesirables"(negative eugenics). In the U.S., it was negative eugenics that was most utilized.
The lack of science supporting eugenics is laughable, despite its once widespread popularity. However, at the time it was popularized, it is possible that social and economic conditions made Americans susceptible to such reasoning. The early 20th century was a time of depressions, a scarce middle class, and high immigration. With the stock market crash in October 1929, the dawn of the infamous Great Depression broke. Amidst the darkness the people felt, eugenics found it's niche ~ although to assume the economic temperature was solely to blame would be reckless and inaccurate. However, immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe ~ such as the Russians, Jews, and Polaks ~ became targets of the eugenics movement. By no means were immigrants the only groups singled out. Those also targeted were people categorized as criminal, insane, blind, deaf, epileptic, mentally or physically disabled, dependent on the government, idiotic, "feebleminded", deformed, sickly, drunken, imbecile, promiscuous, etc. These conditions were seen as a detriment to society and, therefore, needed to be controlled to maintain pure and healthy bloodlines and reduce the continuation of these traits, as well as to prosper economically.
The birth control measures taken in the U.S. varied from immigration restriction laws and marriage laws to involuntary sterilizations. Laws restricting immigrants to freely enter the United States were enforced and many were rejected for discriminatory reasons in the early 20th century. Also, inter-racial marriages were prohibited. A law was passed prohibiting "epileptics, imbeciles, and feebleminded persons from marrying or having extramarital relations before age forty-five" in Connecticut in 1890. Indiana was the first state to pass a sterilization law in 1907. By 1927, twenty-seven states had sterilization laws, although sterilizing criminals and the mentally ill were commonplace in institutions before state laws were passed allowing such sterilizations. The passing of laws, however, often extended legal sterilization to other "undesirable" groups. For example, after the ruling in Buck vs. Bell in the state of Virginia, anyone deemed worthy of sterilization was forced through the state to have the procedure. In the case of Buck vs. Bell, Carrie Buck was sterilized for "feeblemindedness" and promiscuity. Tried at 17 yrs. old, Carrie had already given birth to a child and Carrie's mother was institutionalized. Carrie ultimately was sterilized after the judge ruled that "three generations of imbeciles was enough". Later it was revealed that Carrie was adopted, and her child was conceived as a result of being raped by a relative of her adopted family. A report card showing her grades to be more than satisfactory also debunked claims that she was of "below average" intelligence ~ though one source reviewed had Carrie's baby as the recipient of the "below average" claims. Regardless, the result of the ruling opened the door to many more Virginians being sterilized. On May 23, 2002 Governor Mark R. Warner issued a formal apology for Virginia's estimated 7,450 sterilizations between 1927 and 1979. By 1941, approx. 36,000 people were sterilized in the U.S. and the number rose to 60,000 by the 1970's.
"Scientific" racism is not based on science. The true reasons behind why this flourished on the back of science when it clearly was not, I am not sure. There is no data to support it, but there surely is to debunk it. For example, their "research" was based on data collected mostly from second-hand accounts about families, by friends and relatives, going back only one to two generations. Can this second-hand statement be proven: "Yeah, I think Aunt Betsy had a limp"? A better question would be: Was it proven? Furthermore, vague terms used to describe conditions worthy of sterilization, like "feeblemindedness", are not definitive and have no basis for measurement. Also, this was before the discovery of DNA. The hereditary term used at that time was "germ plasma", and genetics were far from understood. Today, we clearly know issues such as poor hygiene, laziness, promiscuity, and "feeblemindedness" are not passed on through DNA.
Ultimately, two schools of thought regarding social problems tend to be consistent. The first being that sin, pain and suffering are inevitable constants in the world and that history shows us the best way to deal with them. Secondly, there is the belief that an utopia can be reached when the proper social structures are put in place. It is apparent that those open to eugenics, in some form or another, subscribe to the latter of the two thoughts. There is irony in that often we hear people cry out against racism, but sometimes it is those same people that support issues such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research ~ both issues that are rooted in eugenics. My next blog will touch on the issues most relevant today concerning eugenics, such as abortion and its widespread use through Planned Parenthood. In discussing eugenics, as with all of life's issues, it is important to remember that God did not dump us here on earth to fend for ourselves and leave us to our own "evolutionary" tactics. He does not want us to weed out the weak to progress as humans ~ instead He wants us to become weak so that we rely on His strength for survival. Though it is easier to listen to the ideological shouts of human progression, ultimately it is God's voice that screams salvation and redemption to our soul ~ leaving us with an understanding that surpasses all human wisdom. In short, God's wisdom IS wisdom.
Happy Easter!
~ Lester
Friday, April 10, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Mind of a Lover
A couple of weeks ago, an Alabama man went on a killing spree. The murder count reached 11, including four relatives and himself. It seemed to have begun with specific targets such as his mother and, near the end of his spree, the victims became random and opportunistic. The victims' ages ranged from toddler to elderly. The man even killed four dogs in his rampage. Apparently this man was very unhappy, angry, discouraged, and depressed. Alot of people go through these feelings, experience difficulties and failures in life, feel betrayal and disrespect and never kill people. It is obvious that this young man had some problems with his mind, thought processes, and emotions.
Stories like these have become quite common in the news lately, so it wasn't the story itself that got me thinking. It was a story told about the killer by one of his school teachers. The teacher told of an incident involving the man when he was a child, describing how he had found some money and turned it over to the teacher instead of keeping it. She remembered this because of the honesty she saw in the boy. I'm sure it was disheartening and confusing to learn that this thoughtful boy had grown up to become a thoughtless killer.
How could something like this happen? Obviously, this man's reaction was abnormal, but I couldn't help but wonder why caring people become bitter and loose control. When I threw this question around in my mind, this passage from the bible stuck with me:
There are two things I want to point out here. First, God always wins. Those who crucified Jesus believed that they had conquered Him. But God cannot be defeated. Likewise, when we trust in God, we do not need to fear. Despite the way we are treated in life, God is triumphant and works good for those who believe in Him. Secondly, even though Jesus was self-sufficient, He was in constant contact with the Father. We may believe we are self-sufficient, but we are not. We need contact with God. We cannot do things on our own. Evil has footing without the love and grace given us by Christ. It is through Him that we learn to forgive and can indiscriminately feel compassion and empathy, despite our circumstances. He gives hope to the hopeless and direction to the lost. He restores us from our broken feelings. Trying to sustain goodness and hope without God is exhausting and is often contingent on what life throws at us.
The Alabama man could no longer see love. Without any other information on him, I will assume the following: The Alabama killer desired good and, at some point, realized that it is easier to do wrong. There was a battle going on inside of him for a long time. Consciously or not, he allowed anger and bitterness to build. Maybe his feelings gave him a sense of power. Regardless, evil gained ground and lies took over. When his feelings got too strong, he gave up control. Given his extreme instability, he chose to take out his pain on others ~ probably as an ultimate expression of power.
~ Lester
Stories like these have become quite common in the news lately, so it wasn't the story itself that got me thinking. It was a story told about the killer by one of his school teachers. The teacher told of an incident involving the man when he was a child, describing how he had found some money and turned it over to the teacher instead of keeping it. She remembered this because of the honesty she saw in the boy. I'm sure it was disheartening and confusing to learn that this thoughtful boy had grown up to become a thoughtless killer.
How could something like this happen? Obviously, this man's reaction was abnormal, but I couldn't help but wonder why caring people become bitter and loose control. When I threw this question around in my mind, this passage from the bible stuck with me:
Romans 7:14-25 (NIV)
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to
sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what
I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know
that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the
desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the
good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if
I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living
in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good,
evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I
see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of
my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be
to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a
slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
In essence, people want to do good and "be good", but we all suffer from the human condition. We desire to do what is right but our body, with it's temptations, are in conflict with our will. Good parents raise their children by reinforcing their children's good deeds and teaching coping skills to deal with the results of bad decisions made by the child and others. Of course, this does not guarantee success, nor does the lack of such upbringing lead to a murderous rampage. My point is that, as we get older, certain things are likely to happen: innocence is stripped and we become desensitized by evil. Often mistreatment by others can lessen our potential for empathy as we attempt to deal with our feelings of betrayal, whether it be real or imagined. We are broken people living among broken people. God chose to come to Earth in the form of a human. When Jesus walked on Earth, He was fully God and fully human. However, He was given human treatment, resulting in His crucifixion. Even though He was betrayed, beaten and murdered, He prayed for us to be forgiven while He hung dying on a cross. The treatment He received did not change His heart. Jesus showed the world what it really meant to have the mind of a lover.We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to
sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what
I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know
that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the
desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the
good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if
I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living
in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good,
evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I
see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of
my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be
to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a
slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
There are two things I want to point out here. First, God always wins. Those who crucified Jesus believed that they had conquered Him. But God cannot be defeated. Likewise, when we trust in God, we do not need to fear. Despite the way we are treated in life, God is triumphant and works good for those who believe in Him. Secondly, even though Jesus was self-sufficient, He was in constant contact with the Father. We may believe we are self-sufficient, but we are not. We need contact with God. We cannot do things on our own. Evil has footing without the love and grace given us by Christ. It is through Him that we learn to forgive and can indiscriminately feel compassion and empathy, despite our circumstances. He gives hope to the hopeless and direction to the lost. He restores us from our broken feelings. Trying to sustain goodness and hope without God is exhausting and is often contingent on what life throws at us.
The Alabama man could no longer see love. Without any other information on him, I will assume the following: The Alabama killer desired good and, at some point, realized that it is easier to do wrong. There was a battle going on inside of him for a long time. Consciously or not, he allowed anger and bitterness to build. Maybe his feelings gave him a sense of power. Regardless, evil gained ground and lies took over. When his feelings got too strong, he gave up control. Given his extreme instability, he chose to take out his pain on others ~ probably as an ultimate expression of power.
~ Lester
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Mind of a Hater
"In Eric Hoffer's account of a mass movement's need for unifying elements, he classified hatred as one of those elements. He quoted Hitler as saying that if there were no such thing as a Jew, 'We should then have to invent him. It is essential to have a tangible enemy, not merely an abstract one.' Hoffer added:
This was taken from an essay titled "Are Jews Generic?", by Thomas Sowell. Dr. Sowell was referencing Eric Hoffer's The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. In Thomas Sowell's essay "Are Jews Generic?", he talks about a universal hatred for groups of people whom he calls "middleman minorities", due to the commonality of their economic roles in societies around the world, despite different races, colors, religions, and national origins. According to the research done by Thomas Sowell, it is the magnitude of violence and the duration of such hate against these middleman minorities that is so striking when compared to other hated groups.
The quote above gives insight into our depravity as human beings ~ not merely those men from long ago dressed in swastika-clad uniforms in a faraway land. The reality is, to some extent or another, we have all felt hatred for another person. And, whether we realize it or not, most of us find a way to justify our hate. We may even find ourselves in the company of others who feel similarly to "legitimize" our feelings of hate, in turn, strengthening it. As seen in the words of the Japanese man above, people don't even need to have a clear enemy to want a scapegoat.
So what drives us to hate?
There are many reasons why some groups of people hate, dehumanize, or devalue other groups of people. In my observation, power and money seem to be common denominators that drive people (and mass movements) to treat others of different races, religions, cultures, national origins, sexual preferences, economic roles or classes, ages, and abilities as insignificant or unwanted. Though we often think of discrimination as being a result of an elitist view of another's appearance, actions, and speech, I think that is merely a symptom, though in no way insignificant. Possibly it is easier for one to justify hating groups because of the "hated's" practices or beliefs rather than to hate them due to the "hater's" own issues of dominance and envy ~ to make the "hated" the faulty party, rather than the "haters". This also makes it easier to convince those with seemingly good consciences to join the hate bandwagon.
An imagined utopia can convince people to "play God" ~ picking and choosing by whom the perfect world would be inhabited. But what we have to understand is that God has created us ALL. He did not create certain people and say, "Oops, I should have thought that one through" or "I had no idea they were going to do THAT!" God knows what He is doing, even if it doesn't make sense to us. We may look around and see nothing but chaos, but God sees His plan unfolding. Even though God is bigger than evil and weeps at our injustices, His plan is not free from pain and suffering. It is what we do with that pain and suffering that is important. Pain and suffering should ultimately be used to glorify God, but often we choose to use it to put a wedge between ourselves, God, and others. Since God lovingly allows us to make our own decisions, He cheers us on to do what is good for us.
God cares about us. How can we show that we care about what God cares about? As Christians, we represent Christ. What can we show others about God by the way we treat people?
Bye!
~ Lester
F.A. Voigt tells of a Japanese mission that
arrived in Berlin in 1932 to study the National Socialist movement.
Voigt asked a member of the mission what he thought of the movement. He replied:
'It is magnificent. I wish we could have something like it in Japan, only we
can't, because we haven't got any Jews.' "
arrived in Berlin in 1932 to study the National Socialist movement.
Voigt asked a member of the mission what he thought of the movement. He replied:
'It is magnificent. I wish we could have something like it in Japan, only we
can't, because we haven't got any Jews.' "
This was taken from an essay titled "Are Jews Generic?", by Thomas Sowell. Dr. Sowell was referencing Eric Hoffer's The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. In Thomas Sowell's essay "Are Jews Generic?", he talks about a universal hatred for groups of people whom he calls "middleman minorities", due to the commonality of their economic roles in societies around the world, despite different races, colors, religions, and national origins. According to the research done by Thomas Sowell, it is the magnitude of violence and the duration of such hate against these middleman minorities that is so striking when compared to other hated groups.
The quote above gives insight into our depravity as human beings ~ not merely those men from long ago dressed in swastika-clad uniforms in a faraway land. The reality is, to some extent or another, we have all felt hatred for another person. And, whether we realize it or not, most of us find a way to justify our hate. We may even find ourselves in the company of others who feel similarly to "legitimize" our feelings of hate, in turn, strengthening it. As seen in the words of the Japanese man above, people don't even need to have a clear enemy to want a scapegoat.
So what drives us to hate?
There are many reasons why some groups of people hate, dehumanize, or devalue other groups of people. In my observation, power and money seem to be common denominators that drive people (and mass movements) to treat others of different races, religions, cultures, national origins, sexual preferences, economic roles or classes, ages, and abilities as insignificant or unwanted. Though we often think of discrimination as being a result of an elitist view of another's appearance, actions, and speech, I think that is merely a symptom, though in no way insignificant. Possibly it is easier for one to justify hating groups because of the "hated's" practices or beliefs rather than to hate them due to the "hater's" own issues of dominance and envy ~ to make the "hated" the faulty party, rather than the "haters". This also makes it easier to convince those with seemingly good consciences to join the hate bandwagon.
An imagined utopia can convince people to "play God" ~ picking and choosing by whom the perfect world would be inhabited. But what we have to understand is that God has created us ALL. He did not create certain people and say, "Oops, I should have thought that one through" or "I had no idea they were going to do THAT!" God knows what He is doing, even if it doesn't make sense to us. We may look around and see nothing but chaos, but God sees His plan unfolding. Even though God is bigger than evil and weeps at our injustices, His plan is not free from pain and suffering. It is what we do with that pain and suffering that is important. Pain and suffering should ultimately be used to glorify God, but often we choose to use it to put a wedge between ourselves, God, and others. Since God lovingly allows us to make our own decisions, He cheers us on to do what is good for us.
God cares about us. How can we show that we care about what God cares about? As Christians, we represent Christ. What can we show others about God by the way we treat people?
Bye!
~ Lester
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Introduction
My husband, Frank, wanted to start a blog. He suggested that I start one too. "What are you talking about," I said, "I have nothing NEW to say!" I still stand by that statement, but it got me thinking. Recently, I have been spending alot of time thinking about social issues and social problems. I often wonder why we act the way we do as a society and what makes societal attitudes shift from acceptance to abhorrence or why some issues have become taboo and not others. And God (aside from religion being it's own hot topic) cares tremendously about these issues. He cares about them much more than we do ~ and these are the things that protests, riots, violence, petitions, and freedoms are made of.
As I began to think, I realized that maybe God wanted me to talk about it. And that made me feel a little uncomfortable. Honestly, it scares me and this is why: Somewhere down the line in history, social issues became partisan issues. But God is not partisan. He does not lean to the left, nor to the right. He does not love some people and not others. He cares about social issues because a society is made up of people ~ all different kinds of people. God is passionate about people. He DIED for people. There is no doubt in my mind that God cares about such things as abortion, feminism, and racism. He cares about anything that effects our heart, mind, and soul. We are deeply effected by the decisions we make and attitudes we hold ~ towards each other and ourselves ~ whether it is individually or collectively. And these things that effect us can either draw us closer to Christ or hinder our relationship with Him. As a Christian, I know that there is NOTHING more important than having Jesus lead our lives. So I am convinced that God and society are not separate issues.
My goal with this blog is not to push my "agenda" on others, but to provoke thought ~ and, hopefully, discussion. But the most important thing is that God is seen in all of this and that He is glorified by the beliefs that we hold and the attitudes that come from those beliefs. So this is the implied question to each blog:
Are we in harmony with God's perfect and loving plan for our lives?
Thanks for reading my blog! Don't forget to participate in my poll!!
~ Lester
As I began to think, I realized that maybe God wanted me to talk about it. And that made me feel a little uncomfortable. Honestly, it scares me and this is why: Somewhere down the line in history, social issues became partisan issues. But God is not partisan. He does not lean to the left, nor to the right. He does not love some people and not others. He cares about social issues because a society is made up of people ~ all different kinds of people. God is passionate about people. He DIED for people. There is no doubt in my mind that God cares about such things as abortion, feminism, and racism. He cares about anything that effects our heart, mind, and soul. We are deeply effected by the decisions we make and attitudes we hold ~ towards each other and ourselves ~ whether it is individually or collectively. And these things that effect us can either draw us closer to Christ or hinder our relationship with Him. As a Christian, I know that there is NOTHING more important than having Jesus lead our lives. So I am convinced that God and society are not separate issues.
My goal with this blog is not to push my "agenda" on others, but to provoke thought ~ and, hopefully, discussion. But the most important thing is that God is seen in all of this and that He is glorified by the beliefs that we hold and the attitudes that come from those beliefs. So this is the implied question to each blog:
Are we in harmony with God's perfect and loving plan for our lives?
Thanks for reading my blog! Don't forget to participate in my poll!!
~ Lester
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