Adam's Apple
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- Apr 25, 2004
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Technology Changes Things
By Jonah Goldberg for National Review
March 25, 2005
"Progress," G.K. Chesterton proclaimed, "is the mother of problems."
Whatever side you come down on regarding the tragic case of Terri Schiavo, this is an important observation to keep in mind.
Not too long ago I wrote a column about how technology changes the ideological landscape. To illustrate the point, I mentioned the attempt by a Maine politician to pass a law that would bar aborting fetuses that tested positive for the "gay gene." The effort was a lark, of course. But I thought taking it seriously, in a hypothetical way, would illuminate some of the ways in which technology can transform our ideological categories.
Many, many readers from across the country disagreed. "I don't know about you, Mr. Goldberg, but I try to be consistent in my principles, no matter how the circumstances change," was the general response from most of the dissenters.
This kind of objection is well intended but fundamentally flawed, as the Schiavo case makes clear. It is now likely that Ms. Schiavo will starve to death. While I think there are major problems with Congress's intrusion into this case, I also think her death is certainly tragic, and the Florida courts probably got this one wrong. But we would not be having this debate if medical science had not advanced beyond where it was, say, 100 years ago. Ms. Schiavo would have died before the argument was born.
http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg.asp
By Jonah Goldberg for National Review
March 25, 2005
"Progress," G.K. Chesterton proclaimed, "is the mother of problems."
Whatever side you come down on regarding the tragic case of Terri Schiavo, this is an important observation to keep in mind.
Not too long ago I wrote a column about how technology changes the ideological landscape. To illustrate the point, I mentioned the attempt by a Maine politician to pass a law that would bar aborting fetuses that tested positive for the "gay gene." The effort was a lark, of course. But I thought taking it seriously, in a hypothetical way, would illuminate some of the ways in which technology can transform our ideological categories.
Many, many readers from across the country disagreed. "I don't know about you, Mr. Goldberg, but I try to be consistent in my principles, no matter how the circumstances change," was the general response from most of the dissenters.
This kind of objection is well intended but fundamentally flawed, as the Schiavo case makes clear. It is now likely that Ms. Schiavo will starve to death. While I think there are major problems with Congress's intrusion into this case, I also think her death is certainly tragic, and the Florida courts probably got this one wrong. But we would not be having this debate if medical science had not advanced beyond where it was, say, 100 years ago. Ms. Schiavo would have died before the argument was born.
http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg.asp
