MEADOWCREEK HIGH SCHOOL

Beautys Nothing but the Beginning of Terror

John Nguyen AP LANG

Nguyen 7th Pd Table of Contents 1. Introduction

a. Discussion............Page 1 b. Overview of the Literature.....Page 1 c. Purpose/ Focus of the Paper........Page 4

d. Explanation of the Quote/ Why We Should be Afraid..Page 5

2. Main Body a. Idea 1/ Success: Achieved or Predestined?.......Page 6 b. Idea 2/ The Power to Divide........Page 9 c. Idea 3/ The Human Cost of Genetic Engineering.......Page 11

3. Conclusion
a. Desensitization Therapy......Page 14

4. Works Cited a. Credits..Page 18

Nguyen

Introduction
Reiner Maria Rilke said, "Beauty's nothing but the beginning of terror." What is beauty and how does it contribute to terror? Most individuals would assert that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" - meaning everyone perceives beauty differently. Various cultures have different definitions of what being beautiful is. Some prefer intangibles such as intelligence while others look at the purely superficial side of it. In the American society however, mass media has molded an image of what "beauty" is supposed to be and has foisted this opinion on the citizenry. Beauty in appearances for women means thin waists - smaller than what is usually practical - and big busts and bottoms. For men, usually the athletic, clean-cut, all American image prevails. Clear skin, perfect pearly white teeth, and colored eyes are associated with beauty also. These and much more contribute to the shallow side of beauty which Americans are in a frantic journey of achieving. What about characteristics that are not overtly visible? What attributes, which are invisible to the naked eye, are considered beauty to the people? Intellect and even-tempers are for the most part signs. An amiable personality and extroverted tendencies are considered desired traits which are highly sought after too. While most Americans covet these qualities, the pursuit of them can lead to turmoil and tragedy. With the rise of genetic technologies, the possibility of the perfect human arises; parents may be able to buy enhanced genes for their offspring. Children may be altered to have higher IQ's, faultless smiles, and superior muscles. Though these advancements may seem as good ideas, changing the gene pool and altering the fabric of human life will have profound consequences causing terror and this is just the beginning.

Overview of Literature
There are many articles that discuss the effects and consequences of altering the human genome for human advancement. It is a relatively new technological field, so only few experiments have been conducted and few results have been achieved. Everything so far is mostly theoretical, but some want to preclude the progression of the developing field of genetic technologies. In Stephen L. Baird's article, "The Possibility of Designer Babies Raises Ethical Questions," he ponders about the practice of technologies that will allow parents to enhance and alter the genes of their babies. Are they crossing moral lines? Do they know the full implication of their actions? He asserts that humans need to take 3

Nguyen responsibility for their actions and make the right decisions. I have to agree with him because society needs to see if they are stepping over any ethical boundaries. Also, they need to understand the profound consequence of altering embryos and chromosomes. In the Article," Designer Genes," Bill McKibben asserts that the advancing technology to modify humans is immoral. With the innovation of it, human meaning dangles by a thin thread. The stakes of genetic modification are extremely high and we should stop the evolution of the field before it is too late. I have to concur with McKibben because scientists do not yet fully know the consequences of their actions so they should not advance the field. They have still have to conduct more experiments and procure more data. "On Cloning a Human Being," the author claims that it is theoretically possible to recreate a person and clone them to have the same exact genetic make-up, but practically impossible to have the clone behave the same as the original. Recreating the same environment and ambiance is too difficult. He says since there a plethora of things that can go wrong, scientists should not even try it. This holds true because genetic make-up does is not the only determining factor in developing a personality. It is too arduous to make an exact clone of an individual. While there are plenty of arguments against genetic technologies, countless numbers support the burgeoning field. In the article "DNA as Destiny," David Duncan looks at the endless potential of analyzing DNA. DNA analysis can be utilized to predict whether someone has a probability of obtaining a disease or even finding abnormalities. I think that this can come in handy at treating illnesses effectively, but only the wealthy can afford it unfortunately. Another article," More Couples Screening Embryos for Gender, claims that embryo screening is beneficial because preimplantation genetic diagnosis can detect irregularity in babies. Also, it may be able to detect single gene disorders. I feel that this is beneficial as long it does not enhance the genes of individuals. In "Stem Cell Research Opens up New Opportunities" the author emphasizes the beneficial outcomes that can come from stem cell research.

Purpose and Focus of the Paper Thesis Statement: The human race has always been in a

This paper seeks to assert why Beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror and the implications that result because of the use of genetic engineering.

Section 1 (Beginning of Terror) introduces how advancements in science and the use of genetic engineering has given society too much power in creating the next generation and will lead the people to ruin.

Nguyen Section 2 (Why Should We Be Afraid) discusses how the search for perfection, the search for beauty has become the greatest threat for the future yet we do not have the luxury nor the time to stay in fear. Section 3 (Success: Achieved or Predestined) discusses how society has lost all sense of effort and persistence and expects prosperity in life to be determined at birth. Section 4 (The Power to Divide) discusses how genetic engineering creates an enhanced sub-species in the human race that will drive this nation to ruin.

The Social Schism Due to the exorbitant costs of genetic technologies, only the affluent will be able to afford such a luxury leading profound social ramifications. Currently, the genetic processes to modify babies and genes are in its infancy however, the screening for diseases and gender is not. The wealthy are able to screen their offspring for gender preferences and abnormalities while the indigent do not such an option. They can look for embryos that have a better higher chance of being healthy thus leading to robust offspring. The differences in economical statuses will cause an even further division between the social groups leading to a separation of the human race. When germline engineering does become available and allow "parents the ability to make choices about the traits of their offspring(The Possibility of Designer Babies Raises Ethical Questions)", the rich's children will have every advantage against the poor's. With the right amount of money, people will be able to buy upgrades" for their children. The rest of the population will be left with ordinary children that will fall behind in every category against the superior ones. A sixth of the American population lacks health insurance," and "Americans cannot even afford to donate 50 cents per person in Africa (Designer Genes)" so how will less fortunate families come up with the means to enhance their progeny to compete with the "super babies" the rich will have? Some claim that because the wealthy have the excess money, they should be "entitled to a healthy [baby] (The Possibility of Designer Babies Raises Ethical Questions)," and a beautiful one. They should be able to use their capital they way they want to and how they want to. While this may hold true, they can allocate their money to different and better needs such as aiding the impoverished and donating to third world countries. The money will be going to a greater and more humanitarian cause leading to a better society. Investing on progression of genetic technologies to enhance characteristics 5

Nguyen will cause humans to deviate from the egalitarian values the society was build upon so it should be precluded. If it is not, it is only a matter of time before the social gap divides humans for good.

Artificial Selection Back when Hitler was the leader of Nazi party in Germany, he envisioned a future where everyone would have blue eyes and blond hair. He envisioned a future where only the Aryan race would thrive. By following this ideology, he murdered and slaughtered millions of Jewish people and gypsies that did not have Indo-European descendents during World War II in order to create the perfect race of humans. Will history repeat itself when superior human beings emerge? Will those beings select against the inferior ones that are not genetically enhanced?