I’ve been thinking about the case of the Romanian orphans quite a bit lately. In all three of my current classes, students have recently asked questions referencing the orphans and the common outcomes faced by these children (now adults). I am teaching classes on brain function and learning this quarter, and the questions referenced various aspects of the outcomes of deprivation on these individuals’ ability to learn, experience emotion, and communicate. All were good questions, and evidenced my students’ understanding of the horrible conditions of deprivation that these orphaned children experienced. My students knew that these children existed, the conditions they faced, and a bit about the biological and psychological outcomes of such conditions.
However, this is not what brought the orphans’ story to mind. This piece of history has come to mind in light of the current political climate and specific legislative and judicial attempts to limit women’s access to birth control, abortion, and preventative health care.
I wondered if my students, clearly aware of what happened to the thousands of abandoned children in Romania, knew how those children came to be abandoned. And I wondered if anyone else was experiencing the same apprehension about current politics, in light of the lessons of history.
It turns out that most of my students had no idea where the orphans came from or why these impoverished orphanages were overflowing with unwanted and uncared for children. And no one was making connections between that situation and the situation that could be realized in our own country if the most extreme proposals were actually enacted.
A little history:
In the 1966, Nicolae Ceausescu, the leader of communist Romania, outlawed all contraception and abortion. Under this policy, which began as an effort to increase the population of Romania, women faced legal and social pressure to be pregnant constantly. Not conceiving within a time-frame mandated by the government was a taxable offense. These pronatalist (pro-birth) policies quickly resulted in many unwanted pregnancies and more children than parents could afford. As a result, children were abandoned to government-run orphanages - which were soon overpopulated. These overpopulated orphanages offered the children no emotional care or mental stimulation, and failed to meet even the most basic of physical needs. Most children were malnourished, some never learned to walk, and many were never toilet trained. Most orphans were developmentally retarded, on both mental and emotional measures, due to the profound lack of basic care and exposure to the experiences needed for typical development. Because of the political climate, this situation was not recognized in the west until the overthrow of Ceausescu in 1989.
I bring this up as a warning from history. I want to remain calm and I want to believe that such atrocities could not happen in the U.S., in the 21st century. However, I also recognize that those who do not know about history are at risk of allowing the perpetration of similar evils. The belief that “it could never happen here” is capricious, and potentially very dangerous. In recent history (i.e., the past year), several political maneuvers have proposed and/or resulted in cuts to women’s health care, including access to birth control, and limited and challenged the legal status of abortion. (The links provided here are just a few examples to illustrate this point. If anyone is unaware of the numerous challenges to women’s reproductive health care, I strongly suggest more thorough reading to catch up on this topic.)
The reasons cited for such political moves are often “values” based. Pro-life arguments cite the value of human life. While this is certainly a noble value on paper, it is of utmost importance to consider what an unwanted and uncared for human life actually looks like. In the story of the abandoned children of Romania and their fate, we have a glimpse of what it means for a government to decide that all children must be born. In the case of Romania in the last half of the 20th century, the outcome was certainly not “pro-life.” Yes, the children were born, and many survived. However, their existence bears little resemblance to what a human life, even at the most basic level, ought to be. It is chilling to think that this happened in the first place, and that shades of this horrific social experiment could ever happen again.
I do not write this to provoke fear of an imminent threat. Rather, I write this with the hope that a few more people will be aware of what has happened in the past. The more people who are aware of the connections between the past, present, and future, the more there are to think critically and act rationally to prevent this - or anything like it - from ever happening again.
(Note: I have additional, very real fears about the true motivations of politicians who wish to strip women’s reproductive rights. I do not actually believe the rhetoric about “the value of human life” coming from people who hold the lives and rights of others in such low regard. However, these concerns warrant their own discussion separate from the point I wanted to make in this post.)
How do we think about politics? What is our brain doing that makes us favor one side over another, overlooking the flaws of “our team” while zeroing in on every flaw of the “other team”?
Click the link above to watch what happens when one monkey realizes that she is being “paid less” than another monkey for the same task.
Originally presented in this TED talk by Frans de Waal on Moral behavior in animals.
Are you aware of all of the false arguments and logical fallacies being used to manipulate your beliefs and emotions? Do you use any of these arguments yourself? Click on the title to get educated and prepare yourself to resist such arguments. Bonus: This is just in time for election season. Play logical fallacy bingo with your friends!
Did you know that your brain is this gorgeously organized?
Neither did scientists, until recently.
(Click the image above to read about this new discovery.)
Article from the Chronicle of Higher Education - a particularly good read for graduate students and future graduate students.
A quick video explanation of optogenetics - the 2010 Method of the Year.
A psychology class at Wofford College used operant conditioning to shape rats to play basketball.
More evidence of the extremely awesome things that rats can do.
good:
Boys Will Hire Boys: The Media Is Male and Getting Maler
Women are still highly underrepresented in media both on and off the screen.
The good news: In 2011, women held 40.5 percent of newsroom jobs, compared to the 36.6 percent they occupied in 2010. The bad news: By almost every other measure, media remains overwhelmingly male, and it’s getting maler.
As many of you likely know already, Gov. Gregoire signed the Marriage Equality bill into law today. This makes Washington the seventh state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, although the law will not go into effect until July 7th.
Unfortunately, the law is also subject to a repeal process if opponents gather enough signatures to put a referendum on the ballot in November. For this reason, I hope that everyone will continue to pay attention to this issue, and not take this new right for granted.
Clearly this is a political issue, and I try to avoid airing much of my own politics on this blog. However, I wanted to post this because I see this as a major victory for human rights. Although marriage may not be personally desired by everyone, that preference does not diminish the fact that this is a basic right afforded to some in our society, but denied to others. The basis of this denial comes down to certain individuals’ and groups’ fear of, and distaste for, gay and lesbian relationships. All arguments made against extending the right for two consenting adults to marry are based on personal opinion, not fact or evidence. However, one person’s opinion about another person’s lifestyle is hardly a reasonable criteria for making it illegal or preventing that person from enjoying the same rights afforded others in the society.
I celebrate any event that recognizes individuals’ humanity and extends rights and recognition fairly to all people. Today I celebrate this victory; this is a day of personal joy for so many individuals and couples, and a step forward for our society.
