A Matter of Selection

Our plants have grown since the last time we saw them. Like many of the plants in the garden, they look fully grown and have traits that set them apart from the other types of Brassica Oleracea. The most differences I saw in the garden involved the shapes of the broad leaves. Some were more ridged about the edges, some had bumps that looked like little air pockets, some had leaves that were softer around the edges, etc. The most similar trait of the Brassica Oleracea was the color of the plants. The leaves were all a dull dark green color and the stems of most of the plants are purple. All of the plants in the garden have grown from similar looking seeds to plants of variety with many forms. Like any living organism, these plants and their genes have changed over the years to adapt to their environment and co existing species. People have also performed artificial selection and mutations on plants in order for the plants' traits to meet their needs. For example, there is selective breeding among plants, which is a process in which people breed different plants for specific traits. Both natural selection, which is  the process of organisms naturally gaining more traits that are more fit for the environment they live in, and artificial selection are connected to decent with modification; the descendants of the original plant have modifications made to them but are still basically the same plant. These processes helps organisms survive in their environment for much longer than they would have originally.  The plants' most similar trait, anatomy wise, is the stem. It is cylindrical with smaller stems sprouting from it and leading to the veins of the leaves. Plants have similar traits because they all come from one ancient organism, and from there they have mutated to fit their individual environment, but many still have the same basic structure or at least a few of the same traits. People can also breed different plants by using controlled pollination to get desired traits.

GATTACA Essay - Grace Euerle

Gattaca Essay - Genetic Engineering

In the film GATTACA, people are able to genetically alter their children so that they can be successful and not life ‘invalid’ lives. Those who were not genetically advanced, were called invalids and were looked down upon in society. One of the main characters, Vincent, was conceived out of love and was not genetically altered. For his brother, however, his parents chose his traits so he was genetically advanced, and his parents favored his brother more. It would be nice to give my child an advantage in life by choosing successful traits, but there are some reasons why I would not want to genetically alter my child.

First of all, I would want my future son or daughter to have the best and easiest life possible. I would want them to be successful and not have to be subjugated because of their genes, but it seems unnatural to choose what traits they inherit. What if genetic engineering messes up and they inherit mental or physical disabilities instead?

Genetic Engineering has some benefits, though. It gives humans a head start. Parents can choose what their children look like, prevent them from inheriting genetic diseases, and parents can choose if they want their child to be athletic or artistic. Despite all of these advantages, we cannot control how children grow mentally. In the movie, Jerome had all of these great genetic traits and was a star athlete, but was depressed. There was so much pressure to be perfect because he was created perfect. He started drinking and smoking, and tried to kill himself. Genetically altering our children can cause them to crumble under the pressure of trying to act perfect because they were genetically perfect.

In conclusion, I do not think I would genetically engineer my child. It is not natural, and I do not believe that we should be able to mess with our genes. There is already enough prejudice in this world with different races, religions, and beliefs. Creating a whole new race with genetically altered humans would make it even worse.     

GATTACA: Selected Traits vs. Conceiving Naturally

In the futuristic world of GATTACA, people can genetically enhance their child so they can live a life of greatness and be a “valid” member of the working society. For example, after Vincent- who was conceived of love- was born and had many flaws, his parents decided to have another child, which they chose traits for. There are reasons as to why or why not one would want to select certain traits for their child. I personally am not exactly sure if I would want to or not.

On one hand, I would want more than anything for my child to be happy and achieve their goals. I want them to grow up in an environment where they could succeed in anything they put their mind to and have a greater chance of success. However, selected traits, like intelligence and athleticism may not be the direct path to greatness. For example, Jerome was a god like figure; he was one of the most qualified  people to be in GATTACA. But although he had all of these amazing talents and qualifications, he lacked spirit, and this lead to depression and drinking; so a great outcome is not guaranteed, but there is a good chance that people will get the results they were hoping for. Why not take advantage of the opportunity to get ahead if it means there is the probability of a brilliant outcome?

In contrary, the main reasons I wouldn’t want to genetically modify my child is because I would feel like it is less of me than it would’ve been and i believe that, like Vincent, they could achieve success without selected genes. In GATTACA, the doctor for Vincent’s parents asks them if they would like to modify their child and reassures them that the child is still a combination of them, simply the best version. This is slightly more comforting, but as a person who believes that everything happens for a reason, I feel like that would be messing with fate. Vincent is born with many flaws and was an invalid, however, he manages to do better than most people who do have modifications. One who has to work harder to reach success and ends up achieving their goals will feel much more accomplished than those whose lives have been made easier. They will feel like they’ve earned it and know that they have potential to do great things even without a boost.

I believe that everything unfolds as it should in the end, so no matter what someone chooses to do it will all end up okay. People can choose to select their child’s genes, and that’s okay. They will most likely end up reaching their goals and happiness because they have advantages, and they are a combination of the best versions of their parents. If people choose to let their child have a natural birth, that’s okay too. They can reach success as well. possibly not as easy as one with special genes, but that’s something that makes it worth it. Either way, greatness depends on spirit, dedication, and  and the effort one is willing to put in to everything they do to reach their dreams.