tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63535302771376344.post2760057237657178835..comments2023-06-25T06:07:14.706-05:00Comments on O-L-I [Opinionated Layman's Input]: Helping Parents of OrphansTim Laitinenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07659772910035894952noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63535302771376344.post-8541685668679321202012-06-26T19:48:20.734-05:002012-06-26T19:48:20.734-05:00OK, let's go down the list.
1. About the lack...OK, let's go down the list.<br /><br />1. About the lack of sewer lines in the "New World:" not sure what this has to do with anything. I was merely pointing out that yes, there are some basics to life for which we righteously advocate; clean water is one, luxury cars aren't. To the extent that we can help poorer nations with their infrastructure needs, we should.<br /><br />2. First, apparently, you're presupposing that adopting American children is out of the question. I know of a couple who completed their paperwork with a right-to-life agency in Dallas, and within a matter of weeks, a newly-born son was in their household. The couple is white, and their new son is black, but that should not make a difference. Second, I've heard from the mouths of adopted parents and advocates for international adoption that our superior quality of life in the United States provides a compelling reason for their aspirations.<br /><br />3. First, again, it seems as though you've concluded that adopting American infants is inefficient or undesirable. This government regulation of which you speak is actually designed to mitigate the corrupt adoption practices which are rampant in many Majority World countries. And I am not anti-adoption. I am pro-eyes-wide-open adoption. Second, "desperately wanting" something may be a culturally-relevant reason for pursuing something, but as I'm finding out with this writing gig, what you want and what you get can be 2 different things! Third, I'm not marginalizing anything into dollars; I'm pointing out that with America's current right-wing frenzy over thrift, dollars spent on international adoption would actually go farther in the child's native country. If you haven't read my book review or the book I reviewed, seeing why keeping kids in-country is important won't make sense to you.<br /><br />4. Not sure where the brick thing is going either, but if you're familiar with Pantego Bible Church, you may also recall the effort a group of engineers from Pantego undertook in Africa back in the 1980's. Teams of volunteers traveled to Africa to find underground springs and drill simple wells in an effort to help not only with in-country orphan care but poverty relief in general. It was - pardon the pun - a groundbreaking program at the time.<br /><br />You don't seem to have read my essay very carefully; otherwise you'd see that my focus is not on the American adoptive parents, but on the child who may not actually be "orphaned" at all. And I didn't even include some of the steamy bits from 2 missionaries with whom I've corresponded who would love to just blast the myopic, sentimental viewpoint you seem to possess about international adoption as just another Americanized fairy tale. Maybe I should have...!<br /><br />Seriously; I'm serious about my disclaimers about people wanting to adopt and the agencies they use. There are sincere people working hard to make sure needy kids get good homes. And those are very good things. But the American church is also very good at simplifying issues that are actually far more complex than we want to admit. This is one of those issues that may actually harm the kid as much (if, indeed, it's that much) as it helps them.<br /><br />Like I laughed to one of my friends, listen to me! An ardent advocate for classical hymnody being a champion for cultural relevance! :-)<br /><br />Thanks for your feedback.Tim Laitinenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07659772910035894952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63535302771376344.post-33603817185337760812012-06-26T18:28:15.553-05:002012-06-26T18:28:15.553-05:00Have you ever asked yourself: "Why don't ...Have you ever asked yourself: "Why don't so many of the other countries have clean safe water to drink?" I don't think the US already had water treatment plants and water lines running accross the whole country when the Mayflower landed...<br />be curious to know what your conclusion might be.<br /><br />Also, may I ask for your source of info on two assertions?<br />1) you stated " Extending the benefits of American citizenship has become one of the most compelling reasons people from the States have adopted children from places like Ethiopia, Cambodia, and even Russia. Conventional wisdom says that plucking orphans from Majority World nations and other struggling countries, like those of the former Soviet Union, will give at least a few children the opportunity to thrive in a much more privileged society."<br />source? how do you know this? it is really conventional wisdom, or just your opinion as you write this? my only experiences with real people trying to adopt from places like Russia are more along the lines of it being easier, cheaper, but most importantly faster, as in a realistic time frame while they are still young enough to raise children, lol. many people unable to have children of their own find it mostly impossible to adopt through usual means from within this country due to rediculous over regulation by the government and the addition of beuracrats in the decision making process. to many with the right reasons and motives, its the only hope for having children. Many couples just want their own children and it has nothing to do with such efforts to wear their hearts upon their sleeves as you've asserted. do you have first hand accounts from any addopting couples who've explained their reasons to you to be just as you've stated?<br /><br />2) you said: "The average cost for an American couple to adopt an orphan from a Majority World country runs from $15,000 to $20,000. And that's just to get the kid over here. Imagine if that money was spent on the orphan in his native country, where he could grow up with his parents, family, and tribe? What if he could get a good education in his hometown, and drink water from a fresh well in his hometown, and avoid germs with the help of a sanitary sewer in his hometown?"<br />wow. any chance there are just some couples unable to have their own children who desperately want their own children, to love, care for, teach, welcome into a Godly home and instruct and raise up a new generation in the ways of the Lord? you seem to marginalize a whole group of adoptive parents by turning the whole thing into just dollars and then suggesting how the equivalent dollars should just be thrown to the birth parents as some kind of guilt offering just for being better off in a more wealthy nation. do you also have first hand confessions from addoptive parents admitting their only motive was to know that some child had a $20,000 head start in life and that somehow puts them just as at ease as if they could fulfill a very natural desire to have and raise children of their own?<br /><br />a possible impression of Tim as a father:<br />"oh, honey, i'm pregnant and we're going to have a child to raise."<br />Tim: " Oh good grief!, how much is that going to cost us?!" couldn't we just give the same amount of money to a church building program instead, and at least then we'd get a fancy brick with our names on it embedded in the walkway somewhere so everyone could recognize (and give us credit for) our financial sacrifice for a good cause?"<br /><br />(kidding with you on the last part of course. I seriously doubt you bought any bricks at Pantego, heheh.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com