Political Soundbites
With the election year upon us, we have already become innundated with political "sound bites" from candidates, news media and advertisements. The problem with many of these messages is that they are the ones the speaker wants us to hear, and not necessarliy "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
While I didn't watch the majority of the The Democratic National Convention, I was intrigued by some of the clips the media kept playing afterwards. Of course the speech from John Kerry was covered well, but it seemed the second most frequently played clips were from Ron Reagan Jr.
Ron's speech focused on his personal cusade, which is embryotic stem cell research and cloning. The sound clip I heard repeated several times was..." it does not follow that the theology of a few should be allowed to forestall the health and well-being of the many." This statement is untrue on both parts. There are more than "a few" people opposed to embryotic stem cell research, people of many backgrounds. And second, stem cell research is not a miracle cure.
As Nigel M. de S. Cameron recently stated, "To suggest that cures for juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's disease are just around the corner, and that voting in pro-cloners will somehow make it happen, is a travesty. In fact, to date, only ethical research on adult stem cells has actually cured people with "incurable" diseases."
For anyone struggling with such diseases, a desire for a cure is understandable. It is hope that keeps the human spirit alive. However, hope should not dissapoint, and placing our hope in unethical treatments that have proven to fail will dissapoint. The fact is that only research using adult stem cells has proven effective.
Hijacking the Reagan Name by Nigel M. de S. Cameron
Stemming the Confusion: The False Sell on Stem Cells by Charles Colson (this article also lists 20 other refrences and resources)
In this debate, as well as the many other issues that face our country and our world today, we have to be vigilant in the search for truth. The "sound bites" are often one-sided and do not take into account the whole of an issue. Many times the heart of the matter, and the solution, is found somewhere in the middle.
While I didn't watch the majority of the The Democratic National Convention, I was intrigued by some of the clips the media kept playing afterwards. Of course the speech from John Kerry was covered well, but it seemed the second most frequently played clips were from Ron Reagan Jr.
Ron's speech focused on his personal cusade, which is embryotic stem cell research and cloning. The sound clip I heard repeated several times was..." it does not follow that the theology of a few should be allowed to forestall the health and well-being of the many." This statement is untrue on both parts. There are more than "a few" people opposed to embryotic stem cell research, people of many backgrounds. And second, stem cell research is not a miracle cure.
As Nigel M. de S. Cameron recently stated, "To suggest that cures for juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's disease are just around the corner, and that voting in pro-cloners will somehow make it happen, is a travesty. In fact, to date, only ethical research on adult stem cells has actually cured people with "incurable" diseases."
For anyone struggling with such diseases, a desire for a cure is understandable. It is hope that keeps the human spirit alive. However, hope should not dissapoint, and placing our hope in unethical treatments that have proven to fail will dissapoint. The fact is that only research using adult stem cells has proven effective.
Hijacking the Reagan Name by Nigel M. de S. Cameron
Stemming the Confusion: The False Sell on Stem Cells by Charles Colson (this article also lists 20 other refrences and resources)
In this debate, as well as the many other issues that face our country and our world today, we have to be vigilant in the search for truth. The "sound bites" are often one-sided and do not take into account the whole of an issue. Many times the heart of the matter, and the solution, is found somewhere in the middle.
posted by Sandra at
9:34 AM
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