Brad: In A Brave New World...

So in my intro post I said that most of my posts would focus on political issues. Sometimes, though, you come across something meaniningful, or controversial, enough that you can't help but share what you have to say about it. Also, I thought I'd take a break from studying and write something to keep my mind active. So here it is, my first serious post:

From learning to ride a bike, to graduating high school, to months spent in university or wherever our life takes us, memories are something we have and that often treasure. They, in a major way, help make us who we are. Of course, we also have unpleasant memories. Some are worse than others, and for some people they can be so bad that they want nothing more than to simply forget them forever. Which brings me to the main question in this post: what if there were a pill that could accomplish this by erasing a person's most unpleasant memories while leaving the more pleasant ones intact? That may sound like something out of science-fiction, but according to a study cited in this article from MSNBC, it's a very real possibility.

Now, I understand, as did many of those commenting on the article, that its use is intended for and could perhaps significantly benefit sufferers of debilitating PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). However, this sort of tampering with peoples' minds and personalities is arguably a slippery slope and it does raise ethical questions.

As several commenters pointed out, bad memories are a part of who we are, and in many cases they allow us to learn. As the saying goes, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it". Even in severe cases where the bad memory is something not due to one's own actions but a horribly tragic event imposed on someone misfortunate enough, it seems like something would be lost in possibly denying them the chance to face their memories and overcome adversity.

Furthermore, is there any guarantee that this drug could be prevented from getting into the hands of those not deemed in real need of it, as a form of self-treatment and a quick-fix?

Plenty more could be said about this, and I may edit this post later, but for now in the interest of brevity and for lack of more time, I'll conclude with a quote from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and leave the reader to judge: Closer to utopia or dystopia? I know my answer:

"And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears–that's what soma is."
-Brave New World; Chapter 17.