Another Reason to Think Locally
Back in October, I wrote a post entitled Charity Begins at Home, in which I asked people who were considering adoption to think about the 120,000 waiting children here in the United States. I said that I wasn't trying to bag on people who did choose to adopt from overseas, but that it was really important to consider the long-term effects of ignoring our own needy children at home.
American Family made the following comment, which really got under my skin:
What is it about American kids that make them more worthy of a home than kids in other countries?
They are more worthy simply because they are already here. By ignoring their needs, we are ignoring a much larger social problem. Without proper parenting, these kids will grow up lost. As adults, many of these kids will end up homeless, in jail, or perpetuating the cycle of abuse, neglect and addiction on their own offspring. It seems wrong to rescue children from overseas when there are so many here waiting for homes.
But now there's yet another reason to look locally. China has tightened their adoption rules. If you are unmarried, over 50, obese, take medication for depression or anxiety, or have "a severe facial deformity," you aren't eligible to adopt. If you aren't the perfect couple, China doesn't want you.
Keep your kids, China, we have more than enough needy ones here.
2 comments:
Well said. I also think that it is too convenient (and rooted in colonialism, but that's another story) to look at the problems of other countries and want to "fix" them than to start here at home. As the saying goes, "Keep your own side of the street clean." I do think some people are more concerned with poor, starving children in other countries than poor, starving children who live down the block. We live in massive denial about how bad things are here in the US for so many people, because we are a "First WOrld" country and a rich country. I think for many, there is also some element of the 1st World savior complex going on.
How can we begin to criticize other countries and try to fix their problems if we can't even try to fix our own?
I can appreciate why that post got under your skin but I think you're really really simplifying why people choose to adopt in the ways that they do. Baggage has a great response to your post -- have you seen it?
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