Thou Shalt Not Create

Reposted as history. Originally posted in March of 2005.


By Charles Krauthammer - Friday, March 11, 2005 - Washington Post

You do not create a human embryo to be a means to some other end. Most people with a moral sense ........... understand immediately that there is something fundamentally different, fundamentally corrupting, fundamentally dangerous about allowing -- indeed, encouraging -- the manufacture of human embryos for the purpose of their dissection and use for parts.

Do you agree with this? Most people do. The question then becomes are you willing to set aside your prejudices and act on an intellectually consistent application of the principal? Krauthammer, as he frequently does, takes a position that makes everyone on both sides of the debate unhappy, because he shows where both sides are failing to be consistent with their logic.

It made me more aware than ever of the debate that is going on inside the Republican party. What does it mean to be a Republican today? There was a time when we tried to define what it meant to be conservative, and that was the base of the Republican party. However we attracted a great number of people who were socially conservative, and yet who did not completely accept the fiscal conservative views that were mainstream conservatism. George Bush is a perfect example. Conservatives have segmented into groups, fiscal conservatives and social conservatives, and the new group, that believes most of each groups agenda, compassionate conservatives.

Recently another group called neo-conservatives have arisen, and they are currently the pressure behind many of the most intellectually challenging debates going on. They have been described as "liberals who have been mugged by reality". They are frequently ex-libertarians, who have joined the Republican party to change the conservative position of isolationism into a new global activism for good.

Krauthammer is one of them, and he brings to the table their passion for intellectual consistency, something that used to be the trademark of conservatives during the 80s when conservative views were becoming mainstream. They are the reason that the Republican party is such an exciting place to be today. They demand intellectual honesty. And that brings us back to this article. Intellectual honesty says that we must explore the issue of stem cells and cloning with a clear moral definition of what we believe.

Whatever side you are on over the issue of stem cells and cloning, this article will make you think about the issue differently. If you are going to disagree with Krauthammer, you need to understand his explanation of where he stands, and have good reasons for your position. He is being morally and intellectually consistent, and that has to worry you if you disagree with him.