Grays Sports Almanac: MJF Foundation and Ethics
I apologize in advance for the long rant...
I am a huge fan of the Back to the Future trilogy. Thus, I am excited to play the game to see the further adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. I am disappointed, however, that $1.00 went *towards the Michael J. Fox foundation for any pre-orders. *
Simply put, I do not wish to endorse or support any research that goes toward EMBRYONIC Stem cell research; that includes my well earned dollar. *(And can you imagine the amount of fans that will buy this game, myself included!) So I can't in good conscience pre-order this game. *
The game Mass Effect 2 poses a similar ethical scenario. *An alien race is suffering from an genetic mutation. *A member of your crew discovers that a former protégé is trying to develop a cure. *Among the research used by the *protégé *are*dead test subjects. *The*protégé displays no remorse over the people murdered in order to find research. *Thus in the end, the player is given the choice to either destroy the research data "tainted by the death of living victims" or to save the data for the possibility *of aiding the alien race by finding a cure. *
It was one of the moments where the player was placed in a thought provoking ethical dilemma. *The player must chose (and in a game like Mass Effect) live with the consequences of that choice. *
A movie does not place the viewer the same dilemma. *Yet the characters can often still be placed in ethical scenarios. Take for example, Marty's decision to purchase Grays Sports Almanac for financial gain. *Should Marty have brought it? What if it was Marty that had the opportunity to use the almanac and not Biff? *Of course as the viewers we were along for the ride, (no pun intended). *We didn't have to choose; otherwise we wouldn't have had much of a movie anyway!
The decision not to pre-order is not a decision that solely affects my wallet, it too is an ethical dilemma. Yet this is one that does not take place in a game or a movie. *This effects my reality, my life and Michael J. Fox's life. *
I am in favor of ADULT stem cell research. *Michael J. Fox and his Foundation, unfortunately supports Embryonic stem cell research. *Do the ends justify the means? *Do we use the data "tainted by the death of living victims" for the possibility finding a cure or do we choose to be respectful treating all life as sacred and with dignity. *Where or should we even draw the line? *Would we dig up a corpses for *research? *History does have its share of examples. *Take Tuskegee experiment for an example. *
Do the "discarded" embryos deserve better dignity? *As a former embryos myself, I would hope so. *In fact, evidence has even been presented that proves that Adult Stem Cell research has more potential in curing Parkinson's. *In the end you must make a choice. *I choose mine. *Thank you for your time.
*
I am a huge fan of the Back to the Future trilogy. Thus, I am excited to play the game to see the further adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. I am disappointed, however, that $1.00 went *towards the Michael J. Fox foundation for any pre-orders. *
Simply put, I do not wish to endorse or support any research that goes toward EMBRYONIC Stem cell research; that includes my well earned dollar. *(And can you imagine the amount of fans that will buy this game, myself included!) So I can't in good conscience pre-order this game. *
The game Mass Effect 2 poses a similar ethical scenario. *An alien race is suffering from an genetic mutation. *A member of your crew discovers that a former protégé is trying to develop a cure. *Among the research used by the *protégé *are*dead test subjects. *The*protégé displays no remorse over the people murdered in order to find research. *Thus in the end, the player is given the choice to either destroy the research data "tainted by the death of living victims" or to save the data for the possibility *of aiding the alien race by finding a cure. *
It was one of the moments where the player was placed in a thought provoking ethical dilemma. *The player must chose (and in a game like Mass Effect) live with the consequences of that choice. *
A movie does not place the viewer the same dilemma. *Yet the characters can often still be placed in ethical scenarios. Take for example, Marty's decision to purchase Grays Sports Almanac for financial gain. *Should Marty have brought it? What if it was Marty that had the opportunity to use the almanac and not Biff? *Of course as the viewers we were along for the ride, (no pun intended). *We didn't have to choose; otherwise we wouldn't have had much of a movie anyway!
The decision not to pre-order is not a decision that solely affects my wallet, it too is an ethical dilemma. Yet this is one that does not take place in a game or a movie. *This effects my reality, my life and Michael J. Fox's life. *
I am in favor of ADULT stem cell research. *Michael J. Fox and his Foundation, unfortunately supports Embryonic stem cell research. *Do the ends justify the means? *Do we use the data "tainted by the death of living victims" for the possibility finding a cure or do we choose to be respectful treating all life as sacred and with dignity. *Where or should we even draw the line? *Would we dig up a corpses for *research? *History does have its share of examples. *Take Tuskegee experiment for an example. *
Do the "discarded" embryos deserve better dignity? *As a former embryos myself, I would hope so. *In fact, evidence has even been presented that proves that Adult Stem Cell research has more potential in curing Parkinson's. *In the end you must make a choice. *I choose mine. *Thank you for your time.
*
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
And stop with the whole "embryos are living creatures" argument. That's like arguing a sunflower seed is alive. Yes it's true. But embryos are the earliest stage of human development. Seriously. And there are billions of them thrown out by labs that work with in vitro fertilization.
Personally, I wish more had of gone to the MJF foundation.
agreed.
Im pretty sure if you had parkinson's disease you would think differently.