Back in college, when we discussed the influences of “nature and nurture,” genetics and upbringing, inevitably the notion of a child “raised by wolves” came up. Fictional stories like Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan or Mowgli from Kipling’s The Jungle Book made us wonder what would happen if a child was left alone in the wild. Later, I learned that this has in fact happened accidentally a few times and the results were not as these authors imagined. Even though they are genetically human, children raised by animals have found it difficult or impossible to re-enter human society. When I studied education, I learned there was indeed an unthinkable experiment: to deliberately abandon a baby and observe the difference between nurture by humans and whatever the world might offer.
The closest we’ve come is the abandonment of orphans in dilapidated, underfunded institutions, where many children suffer socially and emotionally. We know that human contact, nurturing, and love, especially during the early stages of life, are essential. It seems to me it is criminal to bring children into this world with no intention or means of providing for their needs, either physical or mental. In my mind, caring for children is at the heart of being “pro-life.” Without an adequate support system from childhood through adulthood, we can only be “pro-birth.”
This isn’t about “pro-life” versus “pro-choice.” Yet, we must acknowledge that little humans are defenseless and require attention and care for a relatively long time. Humans are generally considered minors until they are at least 18. That means someone needs to provide us with two decades of housing, nourishment, clothing, education, and medical care. And sometimes grownups can fall into hard times and need help.
While life begins with conception, I’m not sure when humanity begins. Perhaps much later than birth. I’d argue that for some, humanity hardly begins at all. Ever. I’m reminded of this whenever the old send the young off to war or when those who have climbed the ladder pull it up. I’ve been reminded of this lately when so many seem to relish the prospect of deporting migrants to lives of privation and persecution. Is it “human” to turn away refugees? Asking for a friend.
Maybe we have always been living through an unthinkable experiment – turning human beings out into the wild and watching what happens to them. We do this with the sick and indigent as well as children. We do this every time we fail to house, feed, clothe, educate, and care for those who need help. For a long time, I’ve believed the best way to get people to “choose life” is to make sure there is a decent quality of life to look forward to.
Sometimes children are raised by wolves in human disguises. A life of suffering, neglect, or abuse is not a life any of us would want or should want others to live. How is this fundamentally different from the unthinkable? Why do we even need to perform the experiment? We already know the results.
I hope we will find a way to meet the needs of all God’s children. I believe this is not impossible. I believe it is a choice. Historian and philosopher, Jacques Barzun wrote, “The reason teaching has to go on is that children are not born human; they are made so.” Nature and nurture are both important. If we think a fertilized egg with human DNA is all that matters, we are missing 99.999 percent of the point. Maybe we should stop experimenting. Children of all ages are counting on us.
MurrayWorks 