ever have one of those days that defy comprehension?

having one of those as we speak. i'm sitting here, packing to return to gville and getting ready to meet jon over a cup of coffee at barnes & noble. i've got cnn on in the background, like a good little college student, keeping up on my current events so that i know what they'll be loudly denouncing in Turlington Plaza the next day, when i nearly drop a glass vase at the words of the generic newscaster on screen - some lab called advanced cellular technologies in massachusetts claim that they have cloned a six-cell embryo. a human embryo. they cloned a human being, but not to worry, as it will only be used for experimentation, then disposed of. so i'm standing there, frozen in mid-gesture, left staring dumbstruck at the television for a moment before i realize i needed a breath... and as i took that precious pull of oxygen into my lungs, i think a somewhat stifled sob escaped on the way out. a human being, never to see sunlight, feel an autumn breeze, live its life, and they're talking about it so matter-of-factly, so callous about its entrance and imminent exit from this world of ours... yet, how is this life different from any number of perfectly convetionally created ones that are sacrificed at abortion clinics for some greater good to those already living? there was so much love poured into achieving this life, so many late or even sleepless nights, every energy of thousands of people, and to have it boil down to one photogenic guy telling the flashbulbs that yes, they have accomplished what science fiction writers have penned with awe or gravest fear but no, not to worry, this life will not reach its first month, much less its first birthday, and its purpose here is purely for the sake of knowledge, of noble pursuits. we've proven that most any backwater pair of brother/sister coupling can result in a new life... but is anyone else having a problem with deciding a person's destiny? to marginalize their potential and fast track them on a set path, to deny them a lifetime of possibilities and teaching and learning and friends and joy and sorrow and pain and anticipation... it's eliminating the context that forges a human into a person. and is it any less wrong to kill a human than a person who has squandered their life? i don't know. but for the moment being, i'll mourn for this spark, so pivotally important yet doomed from the idea of its inception and fear for what prospects lie ahead.

a bunch of apes running around with nuclear warheads and PhDs indeed.