Designer brands are within reach of most people, designer cars are probably harder to get; but what happens when designer babies are made available? Babies that are tailor made to its parents liking? Seriously, tell the geneticist you wanted an Audrey Hepburn with kuning langsat skin and singing voice.
While I was in primary school, there was a boy I knew named Bernard, I always met him at the football field since our lunch lasted for an hour and half, so we usually had football matches amongst friends. Bernard plays like a champion; he dribbles, passes and receives the ball like no other of us can do. I wasn’t in the same classroom, so I wasn’t sure about his studies, but his classmates told me Bernard is someone of an ‘A’-scooper, someone who grabs A like its nobody business, yet, his schoolbag is not bulky, very light enough for a cool sprint if Bernard misses a bus. Who is this Bernard? He did not talk much about himself. Occasionally, I heard plenty of girl having crushes over him (I’m not sure if they catfight over him). He is not too giraffe-like tall or rhino-like short, skin is tanned dark and friendly. He is a Chindian; the mixed parentage of Chinese and Indian. Like a fine specimen from outer space, Bernard became an instant renaissance man. Almost everyone went ga-ga about Chindian.
Simple biology thought us children inherit good genes from both its parents. Be it physically or mentally, from immunity from diseases to unique skin and hair pigmentation. Mastery of different language is a proven edge, this happens as a result of cross cultural parentage. Exceptions for talents and knowledge, since those are gained through experience. Yet, not all humans are created perfect; there are still imperfections which can be inherited by later generations.
I ‘am not a geneticist to tell you which genes is responsible for this and that, yet, I’am well aware that we are not far away from genetic engineering. Simple alterations can be made in near future to curb hereditiary diseases or deformities. Take, for example, me, I guess, I inherited my loud sneezing (due to sinus) from my father. You can tell how disgusted people responded to my achooos! And Im sure to tell you its such a disrespectful thing to do although it’s a euphoric sensation to sneeze in such way.
By the time im writing this, minor genetic alterations would needlessly be in final few stages before widespread implementation, perhaps less than a decade? I could walk to a geneticist and get that loudsneeze strain erased from my DNA before my children inherited them. This is important, before my generation would posthumously had to be given the surname ‘loudsneezer’ or something like that.
When What God Given is What You Should Keep
But what religion has to say about this? As Muslim, the novelty of saying ‘alhamdulillah’ no matter which odds we are in are recommended. Good or bad. There was a debacle that people with white/grey hair were not allowed to dye their hair; the concluded rational behind this is because ablution taken before prayers wouldn’t cover strains of hairs thus prayer is considered incomplete. Pity, my dad is now officially a ‘hantu uban’ with almost all of his head covering hair white. While its much comforting when other regard white hairs as a sign of hard-thinking. Am I going to have white hair before mid 30s?
Genetics had proven that most of our genes were inherited from our mothers’ side. Then, we can conclude that there is a bit science in Will.I.Am hits “I got it from my mama”, taking all the hearsays and cakap kedai kopi; we can get extra-judgemental by looking at our future mother-in-laws and how graceful as she gets older (careful, do not stare for too long). Then we will get the idea of how our best-half would get older. Will she be prettier? Will she ever runs out of collagen? Will she be crippled with diabetes? Or will we consider for ‘new branches’ when things get saggy and eyebaggy?
Thus, today, in the quest for beauty and perfection; we are in transition period between altering our appearance physically (long after birth) or genetically (long before birth). Expect one day, Muftis and Ustaz giving their thoughts about genetic modifications. Perhaps, they would converge and issue a fatwa or plenty of fatwas regarding genetic modifications; I bet there will be two sets, one the allowable and the other not-allowed. This wouldn’t be as sensational as decree on divorcing through SMS. Yet, it will be similar to BOTOX. To look even farther, lipsticks and blushers are considered haram as well. Those aforementioned are among the most superficial form of beauty enhancement elements. Never a single knife that cuts the skin or chemical that intrudes the bodily systems. Yet, widespread usage can be seen now.
Through the religion eyes, beauty is not something that is prohibited or elicit. Islam allowed women to dress beautifully to please the husband. One of the four major criterion seek by Muslim matrimony would be looks apart from Trust in One God, which is Allah (not to be mistaken with Kitab Injil Allahs’), Good family and appropriate amount of properties. Some may think this debacle (lipsticks and blushers) is necessary because its their mutual responsibility to guide the ummah to the right path, some, under guise of secularity or liberty refused to talk about this matter because it is too small, unconstructive and petty to talk over. For me, I ‘am drifted away from religion because of such debacle which sometimes can get ugly, they might create a facebook haters group (Kami membenci sekalian-sekalian). It wouldn’t be simple to drop this subject; you’ll get slapped with being too ignorant (jahil)
All this will drag on for some time before the public goes to a process of ‘normalization’. When too many accepted the notion using lipstick is fine, then, the debacle seems to become silenced. By then, our ear wouldn’t miss voices saying this normalization is a sign that the end of world is nearing (kiamat sudah dekat). This endless loop of debacle is what driven me far away from religion matters; yet not from God.
I suspected Muslim advocate natural beauty type through selected breeding. By looking at the criterion in regards with finding a good family; the demography is essentially a pool of genes in which a man has to seek the most suitable and caring mother to bore his children. And His Most Gracious Allah willingness to ascend too many of different races scattered all over the world, men would embark on an epic (whatever he may calls it) search.
Nazi Eugenics
In the month of May, almost everything seems to point out to military; especially the WW2. Yes, it no other than a commeration the Fall of Nazi. It was exactly on 9th May when Berlin fell to Soviet troops, and officially German Nazi laid down its arms. Shortly after that, trial begins in Nuremberg where most generals were charged under crime against humanity so on and forth.
Ironically, selected breed is something which had been advocated by the Nazi regime. These are called Eugenics. It derived from Greek word; eu meaning good and genics meaning genes. During the time when DNA strain couldn’t be stripped apart and analyzed under the microscope, a crude method of selected breed is done in which includes segregating the good and bad ones. In Malaysia, reason for eugenics happens in non-science rationality (sometimes discriminating). These includes marriages between Syeds and Tengku. The higher strata of so-called Prophet Muhammad descendants and non-descendants. This were done to maintain somekind of ‘purity’. What kind of purity? Well, you should ask them who strictly abide to the purity ideals, they might have a strong reason to enlighten us the less-pure.
During WW2 German, rarities such as coloured eyes and twins are further experimented by Nazi Doctors. In the time when Germany suffered severe drop of population, twins are something which Nazi leaders look forward to ensure systemic growth of population. Not only the troops for the cause of war, but industrial workforce which proportionally grows according to increasing number of Germany foes. Efforts were also made to dispel unwanted ethnics such as the Jews, which Nazi regarded as ‘the other gifted race beside themselves, the Aryan’. Doctors during third-reich were instructed to do compulsory sterilization onto people who were inflicted with hereditary diseases such as epilepsy, mentally retard or physically retards. These are akin to preventive measures instead of curing the sick. These are all part of Eugenics which wanted an eventual improved pool of human genes. Those associations with Nazi had given Eugenics a bad face and became subject of debate among human rights activists and medicine practitioner.
Selected Breeding has been done on animals and even fruits. Poultry and livestock usually saw the benefits of selected breeding, for a simplistic childish example, a milk producing cow when breed with long-living cow may produce a milk producing long-live cow. In Malaysia, we had UPM specializing in research in these type of feat. The Durians we ate with all its funky name (D24, D12, Kucing Tidur and Udang Merah) are all selected breed of fruits with qualities beyond our understanding. Through genetic modifications, we enjoyed seedless grapes. The nation as a whole may grin in pride with its agricultural technology.
Debunking Eugenics
We call all dump this theory of Eugenics and start living ignorant of this good genes idea. Striding through life as it gives and take whatever it wants. It takes a huge leapt for all of us; all men shall drop their obsession for beautiful and pretty girl, narrow mindedly *ehem* assuming women wanted to look pretty just to attract men, all women shall then live without hassle for the need for vanity and countless make upping hours. It’s a whole new thing for most of us; teaching ourselves not to judge whichever is good or bad; while whole fundamental idea of God-given powerful mind is to differentiate between what’s good and bad.
Slimming centers all over the world would close down and cosmetics industry shall collapse. But, our quest for perfection had given those thoughts as some sort of madness that wouldn’t happen. Eugenics on the other hand would have taken generations to successfully achieve the good genes pool aim. After Eugenics, genetic engineering takes over to allow perfection to be imbued and deformities erased before birth. And a whole new dimension of manicure industry appears in a shape of genetic science where you talk to a geneticist about propagating a your children to have quick feet muscle like Zoe Deschanel
Bernard may be a true rare specimen (no offense, he is not a lab rat). A person which most, if not all, in my generation get awed and girls go ga-ga. An example of what selected breeding can produce (although his parents might meet by serendipity). Blessing of mixed parentage in the form of Chindian. That’s Bernard of my generation. Current generation is global citizen where US parents can adopt Cambodian kids, that’s apparently clear whom to look at.
The Bernard you’ll see in next generation shall be more detailed engineered. Altered to close-perfection from the granularity of cells, DNAs and genes. Behold! The designer baby.
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