The Bizarro World
How Our World Today was Wiped From History.
"... erotic play between children had been regarded as abnormal (there was a roar of laughter); and not only abnormal, actually immoral (no!).." (Brave New World 32).
An Everyday Problem (Gas Prices)
Our world today has many dystopia-like qualities, but as shocking as it might be, we do not live in a dystopia. However, there is one thing that people believe is the worst part of living in the United States. While you might be thinking it’s taxes- which are awful by themselves- I’m actually talking about gas prices. Recently, the prices have been decreasing, but from a recent study, it shows that from 1995 to 2005, gas prices increased more than a dollar per gallon (Gasoline… 1990-2013). Gas prices even reached almost 4 dollars in some places, but now the price has gone down to less than three dollars a gallon, which is still ludicrous but more acceptable than before. As a teenager who has just started both driving and working, I’ve had the undeniable pleasure (much use of sarcasm here, Mrs. Lowe) of knowing how much a tiring ordeal it is to watch the amount of money you have to pay to fill up your car at the gas station. Everyone wishes to spend that money on something else, but sadly most people don’t have that luxury.
While most people blame the government for how high taxes and gas prices are, it isn’t fully their fault. They do have the people’s best intentions at heart, but the other countries we import and export resources from are after one thing, just like we are: money. If we have money, there is more we can do, but we also have to use that money on things we receive from other places, oil included. I’m sure if everyone in the world wasn’t so hungry for wealth and good fortune, there could be a way to let prices return to their ridiculously small state, like when candy was a nickel and you only had to pay fifty cents for a gallon of gas. Sadly, as long as this problem is still in effect, there will always be an issue to address, a person to calm down, and blame for people who are only trying to do what is best not only for our country, but the whole world.
A Self-Titled Masterpiece
Take Stance: I am Against GMOs/GMPs
I'm not the only one with this stance. There are many different kinds of reasons for why someone might agree or disagree with genetically modified organisms or people. Some may be religious reasons (obviously), or some people might just feel that it's wrong. I happen to side with both argument, and maybe others do as well. As shown by the statistic above, 56 percent (754 people) believe that we should not continue with research and development of GMOs/GMPs (Are We Ready?). There's the argument with religion, like Christianity, that believe that the purpose for human life was for procreation and for giving birth to more and more people. At this point in time, I'm not actually sure if we really need to be making more humans, especially not genetically modified ones. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not too fond of the idea of someone else having my exact same DNA, thought process, personality traits, and just... well, everything. I already have a twin brother, so that's pretty much torture enough in the most natural form of cloning.
One of the arguments made in the case against genetically modified humans is the uniqueness argument (4 Arguments). We learn every single day of our lives that we are all special and different. No two people are the same. They may have similar interests, looks, personalities, but they are in no way shape or form identical. With cloning, that immediately takes away that trait of humans. Another argument against GMPs is the giftedness argument. When people think about clones, they think about Spy Kids or some other 80s or 90s movies that showcased clones being much smarter and efficient than the actual human from which they were created. We are all gifts and/or gifted, and by making another version of one of us, it takes away that quality. You're no longer a special gift to the world. You can be easily replaced by your identical creation. With the aspect of cloning, if one person gets cloned, then one day everyone will have to be cloned. That takes away a freedom right that we have as citizens and human beings. We shouldn't have to be copied or replaced by a second version of ourselves. If they were to clone every single person as well, they would also be designed to live much longer and be more efficient than our original selves. If they become more efficient, than everything that person could have worked on their entire lives, their talents, prospects, dreams; they are no longer their own. They now also belong to someone else, someone who didn't work to achieve what the original person has. It's somewhat unsettling to me to know that everything I've ever wanted to do or be could possibly be replaced in a simple minute by a clone of myself.
In conclusion, I don't put off any who agrees with GMOs/GMPs, but I myself just don't see the actual person in cloning myself. If I was to die today, I'd rather die being myself and my own person instead of having my clone doing everything for me.
Works Cited Box
Works Cited
1. Cussins, Jessica. "VOTE: Are We Ready for Genetically Modified Babies?" CNBC. N.p., 11 Aug. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
2. Editor, Ardent. "4 Major Arguments against Genetic Modification of Humans | Gm.org." Gmorg RSS. N.p., 18 Mar. 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
3. "Gasoline in the United States 1990-2013." Statista. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
4. "Historical Price Charts." Historical Gas Price Charts. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
5. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Bros., 1946. Print.