Culture Briefs

Say no to mini-me

“Despite the new possibilities for consensus [on embryonic stem-cell research], advocates of human cloning persist in their efforts to keep human cloning legal and, in some states, subsidized with taxpayer funds.

“Why? Critics of human cloning research have long argued that the drive for cures masked the real intentions of cloning researchers, namely, the pursuit of knowledge without boundaries or restraint. The humanist elements of our culture have long sought mastery of nature, and mastery over the creation of human life for some scientists represents the ultimate vindication of the power of the human species. But allowing scientists to tinker with the creation of human life through cloning subverts human dignity by turning humans into research commodities and giving one class of individuals unlimited power over another.

“A serious commitment to human rights by our government must include an aim to deal with issues as fundamental to human dignity as human cloning. Given that more than 70 percent of Americans believe that human embryo cloning should not be permitted, our government’s silence on this issue is deafening.”

— Michelle C. Kirtley, writing on “A Surprise Consensus on Stem Cells,” Feb. 29 at the Center for Public Justice

Rite of passage

“The Pew Center on the States has issued a shocking report on America’s massive prison population, which now includes 1 out of 100 adults.

“That number is best understood as a mere snapshot. Approximately 630,000 ex-offenders leave prison every year, so the number of adults who’ve been a part of our corrupt, broken prison system is in fact far larger than the 1.6 million currently locked up. Then there are the children with parents behind bars, no small number of whom will eventually wind up in prison themselves.

“After all, when virtually all the adult men in your life do a bid at some point or another, there’s no stigma attached to it. It’s simply part of growing up.”

— Reihan Salam, writing on “The Price of Prison,” Feb. 29 at TheAtlantic.com

Faith-friendly U.S.

“A report released this week by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that almost half of us ’have either switched religious affiliation, moved from being unaffiliated with any religion to being affiliated with a particular faith, or dropped any connection to a specific religious tradition altogether.’

“The Pew findings are likely to intensify the already heated debate about whether expanding religious diversity is a source of strength for the nation or a point of weakness.

“I vote for strength, mostly for two reasons: Religious diversity is good for society — and essential for religious freedom.

“Competition, after all, is the American way. As long as we level the playing field (which means keeping government from taking sides), all religious and non-religious beliefs are free to compete for the minds and hearts of the people. Thomas Jefferson was right: ’Truth is great and will prevail if left to herself.’

“And James Madison was also right. Religious freedom ’arises from that multiplicity of sects, which pervades America, and which is the best and only security for religious liberty in any society. For where there is such a variety of sects, there cannot be a majority of any one sect to oppress and persecute the rest.’ ”

— Charles C. Haynes, writing on “Religious diversity reshapes America, safeguards freedom,” March 2 at the First Amendment Center