So, yesterday was my seven year blog anniversary. That's pretty good. Over sixteen hundred posts and still going. I'm not one to wallow in the past; I don't usually bring posts back from the archives. But I think I will make an exception in the coming weeks. There's a lot of stuff there, some of which might provide some basis for conversation now.
On July 21, 2005, I wrote "Disability and Social Responsibility." It starts like this:
It has long been known that children who are afforded heroic interventions to overcome prematurity - and sometimes that prematurity is induced to address some existing physical anomoly - will likely face serious and continuing health problems. But we tend to focus, both as individuals and as a society, on the save-the-baby heroism and to forget about how to support the family over the long term. I think we should, in general, save the babies, but that we need to take more seriously our social responsibility to provide on-going care for the disabled children who are saved. And I think Confucius agrees with me.
And it ends like this:
Here, finally, is where Confucius comes in. Not in that he is an old liberal Democrat ready to revive old New Deal policy commitments. But because he speaks to us more personally about why we should be willing to give something to those who need it. Quite simply, he is a constant counter to our selfish impulses, reminding us that we find ourselves not in the pursuit of our personal preferences, but in the fulfillment of the needs of others. Here he is:
As for Humanity, if you want to make a stand, help others make a stand, and if you want to reach your goal, help others reach their goal. Consider yourself and treat others accordingly: this is the method of Humanity.
Read the rest if you're interested...
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