My opinion

Personally, I prefer government to be involved in as little as possible in our lives because government is inefficient at whatever area it decides to intervene in. This is why I would never want the state to have as much control in this country as it does in Brave New World. Over the last ten years, our government has been accumulating trillions of dollars of debt and at the same time we are supposed to trust them in running our lives down to determining our profession? I don't think so. Genetic engineering in plants is an area of genetic engineering, if used properly, can produce some benefits for society without simultaneously threatening the natural order. On the other hand, genetic engineering in humans, if approved, can lead to disastrous consequences. There will be social, economic, and political repercussions far beyond what anyone expects if the ball for genetic engineering in humans begins to roll. Once parents are allowed to pick the desired traits of their children then we will have reached a point of no return. Lee Silver, a Princeton geneticist, predicts in his book In Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World, that parents will soon be able to pick out the physical, cognitive, and behavioral traits of their child to be (members.tripod.com). However, he predicts that only 10% of the population will be able to afford this, leaving this 10% in a superior position over the other 90% of society. This would open the door for a society similar to that in Brave New World. Many advocates of genetic engineering claim that this is the only way to prevent hereditary diseases from being passed on but this is simply not true (loka.org). With pre-implementation screening and in-vitro fertilization the same can be accomplished without manipulating genes (loka.org). As religion is demphasized and the social values are changing, progressives have longed for a new, natural world in which the opinion of science is held over all other beliefs. I only hope that this new found ideology does not lead to a brave new world.

Bibliography
Batalion, Nathan. "50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods." 2008 Web.26 April 2009. .

Bergelson, "What are the Dangers?." Mothers for Natural Law. 25 April 2009

Darnovsky, Marcy. "The New Eugenics: The Case Against Genetically Modified Humans ." Population and Development Program Hampshire College 404 2000 Web.17April 2009. .

Group of 18 Scientists, "Candidate Questionnaire." Scientists and Engineers for America Web.15 April 2009. .

Hayes, Richard. "The Politics of Genetically Engineered Humans." 05 09 2000 Web.17 April 2009. .

Ingham, Dr. Elaine. "A GE BACTERIUM THAT COULD HAVE KILLED ALL PLANTS ." New Zealand Royal Commission on Genetic Modification (2001): Print.

"Risks of Genetic Engineering." Union of Concerned Scientists. 30 10 2002. 4 May 2009 .

Ron, Epstein. ""Another Voice: Religion and Measure H"." Ukiah Daily Journal 22 02 2004 Web.18 April 2009. .

Schmid, Randolph. "Obama promises major investment in science." Yahoo Finance. 27 04 2009. 27 April 2009 .

Note: most of these sources are from journals that can be found online.