Copyright © 2000 by Michael
Segers, All rights reserved
Of
course, we all know what the first fall was, and if by chance, we don’t, we
can read about it in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. It’s a story
that makes me think of the tale of Prometheus in Greek mythology, the Titan who
set himself equal to the gods by stealing fire from them to give to humankind.
The
second fall of humanity, some say, occurred during the Renaissance and
continues, in various ways, till this very day. The second fall of mankind lies
in the idea that somehow, if we can just teach everyone to read, have indoor
plumbing in every home, get everyone vaccinated, then we human beings can, on
our own, bite into the apple, light our fires, or maybe even build our tower to
the heavens. And if we can just get enough tax dollars to fund that building
project, then, can we all spell liberal?
But,
this third fall... Do you notice something? These "falls" always occur
as we reach upward, to get that juicy apple (which some commentators say was, in
fact, a tomato) or to build that high tower. The way down is straight up. How
about this for a new tower... or apple.... Human Genome Sciences, Inc., was
recently issued a patent on a human gene which is believed to be the determining
factor in whether or not a person exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) gets AIDS. Wow, so what does that have to do with Peanut.org, and what
qualifications does your humble rover and raver have to comment upon it?
If
you regular readers of these columns (I seem to be obsessed with referring to my
mother, don’t I?) will think a moment, you’ll realize that one ongoing theme
of these columns has been the idea of healing and "wholing." We’ve
looked at a range of options, from acupuncture to massage to meditation, to work
out those imbalances that manifest themselves in our lives and bodies as
illness. Also, every one of the many of these columns about the Internet and our
"dot com" (for commercial) age has been in some way a discussion of
the way capitalism and commerce shape our lives.
So,
let’s look a little more deeply into Human
Genome Sciences, Inc. Nothing could be easier for you; just click on that
name, and you’ll go to their home page. Remember, it is theirs, so you’ll be
getting their spin on things; when you want to get back to the cold, hard
realities of life in the peanut patch, click the back arrow on your browser.
There
is something to admire about this company and its CEO, Dr. William Haseltine.
Whenever anyone tries to find a whole new way to do something we’ve always
been doing, teach a class, heal people, or write an Internet column, it is worth
our attention. We just have to ask, is the enterprise itself worth it? Is there
something wrong, or is there just something creepy about turning a buck on the
pinpoint of a human gene?
The
problem is, if there are no bucks involved, who will do this? Who will make the
21st century (which we have not yet entered—at last, I come out of
the closet on this issue) the century of biotechnology and all that
biotechnology promises? And, who really cares? The truth is, we all should care.
Human Genome Sciences has developed three drugs that, unfortunately, may be of
concern to everyone on this planet in terms of treating their illnesses or of
treating the illnesses of their loved ones. One may improve the paths of blood
circulation, and two may improve cancer treatments by protecting the body from
what turns out to be toxic cancer therapy.
While
HGSI has mapped most of the genome, the distinctive human genetic pattern, its
strength and weakness is that it has indeed mapped the distinctive human genetic
pattern. I smell a fall a’coming. Whenever we reduce a human being to her or
his most basic needs or qualities—an apple, a tower—we are heading for
trouble. HGSI’s CEO distinguishes between finding the genes and finding how
they are used, dismissing the simple location (with no practical application) as
just an academic matter—just an academic matter? (This from a guy with a Ph.D.
from Yale?) As he says, "A race is a great story."
We
need our stories, and we professional word-meisters take our words very
seriously. Maybe (are you listening, Dr, H.?), the technocrats and biocrats and
biotechnocrats of this world need us folks who just sling words? And ideas... Is
it just me, or don’t we all want the people building our towers of Babel,
playing our gods, to have not only a keen business sense but also a heart and a
soul? But, gee, if they don’t have that keen business sense, a heart and a
soul and seventy-five cents (plus their local sales tax) will get them a cup of
coffee.
So,
in this latest fall of the human species (if we keep at this long enough,
we’ll get downright good at it), we learn that it isn’t enough to try to
build a tower of Babel. We have to sell condominiums in it as well. And then, we
have to be sure that we sell condos to large pharmaceutical companies that can
sell—oh, what, the view from the windows in their condos? Sublets? The
advertising space on their windows? Today, the healer can’t get by just on
healing. He has to make a profit not only on the sacrificial heifers but also on
their spilled blood.
But,
still, I’m avoiding the question. Should businesses own patents on human
genes? Gee, I’m going to retreat to my cyber-peanut-patch ignorance. Who
knows? If there’s no chance of ownership these days, who is going to bother
looking for that particular corner of the patch? Who can say? What is a human
gene? Is it truly part of the clay animated by the breath of God? Is there some
spark of the divine or of the human in it? Once isolated, is it—listen,
carefully, and you can hear the protests of the folks who come down, strongly,
on a particular side of the issue of abortion.
The
CEO of HGSI (it seems appropriate to refer to him in the dehumanized terms of a
stock portfolio) has spoken of three steps in healing as he sees it. First,
there is the possibility of the body repairing itself. Then, there is the
science-fiction possibility of growing new organs, and finally, there is the
possibility of coordinating those organs to function with the existing organism.
I’m old-fashioned enough to say, with the human being. A human being
that, I hope, maintains the integrity of his dry feet and noble thoughts, no
matter how messed up his genes may get.
Religiously Rovin': Internet Pilgrimages