"The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts."
Your home is more than just a kitchen, great room, bathroom and bedroom. It is your home. The place where, hopefully, you feel safe and comfortable and loved. It is more than just walls and light fixtures and carpeting. It is where you gather with your family and build memories. It is more than doors and windows and baseboards. It is where your daughter takes her first steps and your son learns just how far he can climb before you panic.
The whole of your home is more than just what is used to make it function.
We have a lot of paperwork we have to provide for The Child's country. We have a lot we have to provide for OUR country, but this specific piece is for his country. I had heard about this but I truthfully thought it was a joke.
No.
Not a joke.
"Declaration stating child shall not be subjected to experimental treatment, organ harvesting or medical purposes."
This is not a joke.
Not even in the slightest.
I wish I could laugh about this.
I wish I could just laugh, "Who would do such a thing? No one ever, that's who!"
But I can't.
And this cuts deeper.
Remember our saying?
"The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts."
See, There is a moment when a person stops being a person. It is different for every culture but it happens in every culture. For some, it happens at the time of death. The deceased is a body, a corpse, an empty vessel. At that point, what happens to the body is ritual but the body is not regarded as a person any longer.
In some, it happens at birth.
A baby born with a birth defect. Malformed fingers, hands, feet, arms, legs. A baby born with Downs Syndrome. A baby born with the wrong color skin. A baby born the wrong gender. A baby born against all odds.
In some cultures, these children are considered unwanted.
In some cultures, they are stored away, out of sight. They are hidden in cold cinder block buildings. They are placed in a crib and seldom leave it. They are fed exactly what they need to stay alive, if they are lucky. If they are unlucky, they slowly starve to death.
In these cultures, The whole is not greater than the sum of it's parts.
These children are not people.
They are a body, with a functioning heart and a set of lungs, a liver and a colon and an esophagus.
This culture, they are not looking to break the children down by their parts. That's cruel. They should die in a whole piece, intact. But these children are not seen as people. They have zero expectations. They have zero hope. They are not supposed to do anything. They can not become anything. They are just bodies born wrong. They are good for nothing. They will never have a "real" life. They will never contribute to society. There is nothing these children have to offer to anyone ... except their parts.
In the eyes of this culture.
"Why would you want to take this broken child? He is worth nothing. He will never be anything. Surely, you only want him for his organs?"
It makes me angry.
It makes me want to RAGE, red- faced with fists pounding, screaming until I am hoarse.
THE CHILD IS MORE THAN HIS BONE STRUCTURE!
THE CHILD IS MORE THAN HIS INTESTINAL TRACT!
THE CHILD IS MORE THAN HIS EYES!
THE CHILD IS MORE THAN HIS HEART!
THE CHILD IS MORE THAN HIS STOMACH!
HE IS A CHILD!
HE IS A PERSON!
HE HAS A LIFE!
AND, BY GOD, I WILL DO MY ABSOLUTE BEST TO HELP HIM LIVE IT!
And every time he strives for, meets or exceeds any goal we can dream up for him, You can bet your bottom dollar that I will be standing there, grinning, and telling the culture that did not value him that They missed out on a wonderful opportunity.
The Child is greater than the sum of his parts.
He is hope.
He is the future.
He is love and passion and excitement.
He is a person.
And we already love him.
