There Should Be A Law...

There are times, dear friends, when I read or see things that I can't seem to shake. They haunt me both in my waking hours and in my dreams, and they make me think deeper and broader than I realized was possible. This happened to me recently with a short independent film shown at a local film festival, and since I saw it I have been unable to leave it alone. My thoughts return to it daily, and I continue to try to tease out the meaning and impact it has had on me.

Dear friends, perhaps you have heard someone at some time say "there should be a test before you can be a parent". Perhaps you've even said it yourself. I suppose even I have, at times when I have heard of a parent doing some horrendous thing to their child. I have never really believed it, but I know that in times of frustration or anguish I have thought perhaps that is what was needed to protect our world from bad parents. And then I saw this film, and suddenly the true repercussions of such a test, and such laws that instituted them, became apparent.

As I have said before in this blog I have a family history of mental illness. On the other side of my family we have a history of alcoholism. In my husband's family there is a history of cancer on both sides, as well as high cholesterol and other health issues. I suspect there is a strong genetic component to all these ailments, and I began to contemplate if "parenting laws" would perhaps exclude those with such histories from bearing children. What would that mean? Well, in my case it would mean that the eight children that my sisters and I have produced might not exist. I look at these children, all intelligent, beautiful, productive, contributing, and quirky individuals, and I wonder if our world can afford to lose children like these.

Dear friends, I won't say much more. Watch this film. Feel the impact, and next time you are tempted to say "there should be a law", stop and think. Consider your own family tree. Think about the imperfections on the branches of that tree, and ask yourself - do you ever really want to see such a law exist? Because if it did, would you? Or your children? I suspect in my case the answer, sadly, is no.

 I present to you one of the most compelling films I've ever seen - "Reproduction".