Sometimes when WiFi isn’t working, you have to write posts from your phone…It is not ideal, so I ask that you bear with me as my capability for editing and structuring this post is significantly reduced. Also…there are no pictures (which is a dang shame cause there are some awfully cute kids being born right now)..my apologies.
I have a friend who swears that every baby she sees is “the cutest baby ever” and proceeds to tell me she “really means it this time” when I ask about all the other kids who have previously held that title. I think she might actually believe herself every time she says something like that. Fortunately her delusion is harmless so I continue to let her believe what she will about each little bundle of joy.
There is something innocent (and at times peaceful) about a baby that can melt even the toughest heart. Except mine that is…but everyone else just turns to mush at the quirky little half smiles of a newborn baby.
There has been an incredible spate of births hitting my Facebook feed this week. Literally 3 newborn babies plus at least 1 or 2 gender announcements or ultrasound pictures. They are all adorable (as you would expect) and you can tell the parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and great grandparents are all thrilled with the new addition to the family.
One of the beautiful things about a new child is the incredible amount of potential that is contained in that little bundle of joy. That kid could grow up to be the next Nobel prize winner, cure cancer, or create lasting change in the world of art. Or the kid could become a great father someday, adopt children, or even be a good friend to someone in a time of need. The potential is there for all of these things and more!
One of the other things I find appealing about babies is their indisputable equality. They all come into the world naked and knowing nothing beyond the womb they just left. (Or if they do know things, they can not express it!) The playing field is totally level and any baby that is willing to work hard can be anything it wants to be. If I had worked just a little bit harder as a child, I could have been the son of the president of the United States.
Hopefully by now you realize that I do not actually believe certain parts of those last paragraphs. The truth of the matter is that we are born into unequal circumstances, and as a result our potential for growth is affected. Try as I might as a young child, MY work can never result in my father becoming President. I may someday rise to the presidency, (“You’ve got nothing else to lose.” ~Stairhime 2016) but I will never have the same opportunities as someone born as the son of a president. Perhaps if I had been born the son of the president, I would have risen to become Intergalactic Emperor for Life Stairhime. We can never know.
This becomes more practical (and less humorous) if we consider the plight of those who were born into circumstances of extreme poverty or a country where freedom is just a sparkle in the eye of a revolutionary. Perhaps you are born in a country where clean water is not available to clean you up after birth, and you catch a debilitating disease right out of the gate. You could not choose where to be born, your fate was unavoidable. You will struggle against the disease, wasting energy your body would rather be using to grow healthy and strong.
The three babies who were born this week were not born into the same circumstances. Their families occupy different socioeconomic strata, and one the babies was born 2 months premature. They will lead different lives and have different experiences, and the world will try to convince you that they belong to different classes. They are all immeasurably better off than someone who was born in a developing nation, and the world will try to keep them seperate from those born in less fortunate circumstances as well.
While there is an argument to be made for being strengthened by facing hardship…It doesn’t count if the hardships kill you before you get started.
We need to remember that regardless of circumstance and privilege, we are all human. We can not escape from that. We need to ask ourselves what we can do to help level the playing field for those born outside of the United States.