The Stem Cell Divide post #1

I have been reading The Stem Cell Divide by Michael Bellomo  for 45 pages and so far... eh. I feel like the book hasn't really started yet so, I don't know how to have an opinion on it yet. The first thing you read is a story of a girl who was in a horrific car accident and used stem cells to replace her pancreas. And although stem cells saved her life, she still doesn't know how she feels about them. And Bellomo says that this how much of the nation feels. They want to be OK with stem cells because they can save peoples lives quicker and easier than ever before but, you feel like you shouldn't be OK with the use of them because, as many of us know, stem cells come from unborn fetus'. This is where the problem lies. This is where the whole debate is. Everyone recognizes that stem calls are safe and effective, but, they come from babies that just didn't make it. Weather or not this is a result of an abortion is another issue entirely. So, for the sake of argument, lets say that all fetus' used for stem cell research and development come from miscarriages or ectopic pregnancy. Would it be OK then? I think so.

In response to the Sandy Hook shooting.

I work at a children's store (The Land of Nod, to be exact) and I worked all weekend. When I was working the cash register on Friday, a woman came in with her son. As he played around with all the over priced toys we offer, she stood back smiling. My manager was also at the counter with me and she leaned over and said "It's so nice that you have a place to play, here" and my boss said "Yea, the kids love it" And she was just silent for a moment than looked over at her son-still smiling- and said "After what happened today... it's just nice to have this moment." I guess that's when it became real to me. My 35 year old, aggressive looking, manager and a stranger were just staring at this kid enjoy life. He didn't know what had happened, all he knew what that he had a toy truck and he was happy. Sometimes that's all you need. As the woman left, my manager (also a father of two beautiful little ones) looked over at me and said "I don't want to even begin to imagine what those parents feel like. For the life of me, I have to stay away from that thought" He than started his walk to the back to start counting the reserve.
As for me, not being a parent but, way to empathetic to even know how to handle it, couldn't stay away from that thought when I got home at 10pm. I sat in my bed reading things on the Internet about how parents would have to bury their kids over Christmas and saying that this has to be the final straw in finally getting to change our gun control laws.
Then on Sunday, before I left for another day at work, I saw president Obama's speech. When he named all the children, and teachers, and addressed our country- that's when I finally lost it. I couldn't help but shed a tear (or a couple dozen tears) for those that had to deal with the pain that seemed so far away from me.
I know that when I have kids of my own, I'll understand more why my mom wanted me to stay home from work and just be with her. Or why on Friday my dad called me kiddo again (after 9 years) and told me he loved me as I walked out the door. But, right now, even the possibility of having to ever feel that, was terrifying enough.

I wish I knew what to say.

So many things have happened. So many things that could've or should've been avoided. I'm talking about the shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut. I don't even know how to handle that. It's the second worse school shooting in America (behind Virgina Tech and before Columbine).
It amazes me how one moment I'm sitting in sociology, passing notes and goofing off, and another moment I realize that as I was sitting in school all day, people were dying. It's crazy to me.
I just wish that I had something to say.

How much say should the government have in our lives?

I don't really have an answer. My head starts many unneeded conflicts with itself. On one hand I think that we are the land of the free, so how come the government has the right to tell us what we can and cannot do (in regards to abortion, religion, marriage)? But than I start to think of all the laws that I'm glad are in place. The laws that send people to jail when they harm another human beings or put others in danger. So is it possible to weave out all the bad and keep the good?
Honestly, no. Because everybody has an opinion. And thats not a bad thing. There's just a lot of them. Everybody has an opinion on what the good and the bad mean. And it is impossible to keep everyone happy. There has never been a president of the United States where every single person in the country went "Alright. I'm OK with this. I can live with this." That has never happened, and that will never happen.  Everybody has there own thing that they want to the president to focus on. And honestly, 4 years isn't that long. When Obama got elected the first time- I was in 8th grade. Now, I'm graduating High School. But, if I look at everything that happened in those 4 years, I realize that it's not as long as I thought. In fact, it went a lot faster than I was initally expecting.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you can't please the whole population in 4 years. Or even 8. Because there are so many conflicting sides that if you tried, I'm pretty sure you'd be unfit to rule, and would go insane.
Obviously I'm great with words and I really know how to get points across. So, I'm gunna try this one more time: Everyone is different. But you can lump people into groups based on they want to be able to do, and what they want (or do not want) others to do, in accordance to the law. And which people are you supposed to go with? Which people do you support or think you should support? Which people are right? this is where things get foggy.