Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Kids Are Alright

In 2009 there was a lengthy enquiry in the NSW Parliament into the issue of same sex adoption. The conclusions of that report were that same sex adoptions should be made legal, but that conclusion was reached only after the chair of that committee cast her vote to break a three-all deadlock. Now this week, with the distraction of the debate in Canberra about who will be the next Federal Government, the NSW Government seems determined to rush this debate and bring about a change that will probably guarantee them Green preferences at the next state election in 2011 - not that it will help!

If that is not cynical enough, I noticed in the Sydney Morning Herald this week a very 'warm' story about a movie that will be released in Australia on Thursday called "The Kids Are Alright”. The story is about two Lesbian parents and their two children who are growing into adulthood. The children apparently decide that they want to know and meet their biological father, so they mount a search for the sperm donor used by their mother. I have not seen the movie but judging by the promotion it seems that Hollywood is again being our moral guide, using entertainment as a visually pleasing form of preaching. Again, I have not seen the movie, but from the shorts I fear the normal Hollywood pattern is obvious: everyone is very attractive; family problems are really just an excuse for comedy; everyone is rich (one of the mums is a doctor); the anonymous sperm donor is charming, handsome and witty; and my guess is that all the problems will be resolved with a happy ending in a little under two hours. Very subtly, anyone who thinks our world has lost the plot in this whole area will be seen as an out of touch, rather irrelevant bigot - because after all 'the kids are alright'.

Forgetting the disciplines of biology, theology, ethics and the behavioural sciences, we will make history, in this State at least, by allowing two women or two men to adopt a child, because the 'rights' of people to adopt should not be discriminated against in any way. Of course the rights of the most vulnerable, the children, will get a little trampled in the process.

Christians are criticized for having an ancient book as their moral guide, but an argument can be made that having the glossy pictures and soppy endings of a Hollywood comedy will not produce better outcomes, especially for children.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119: 105


1 comment:

  1. "Forgetting the disciplines of biology, theology, ethics and the behavioural sciences." Wow, that's a pretty wide ranging sweep there!

    And, "the rights of the children will get trampled?" I beg to differ. The failure of some in our society, including our own government to accept gay people has done a lot of harm to a lot of people. Gay people do not deserve second-class treatment based on their innate sexuality. The children we need to be concerned about are those growing up in churches that instil fear and shame. It's time for the church to deal with the issue and stop driving their gay members away.

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