Some ways of living are better than others. Some basic constituents of a good life are fresh air, freedom of movement, access to the wider world. Ways of living that provide more of those basic constituents are generally better than those that don’t.
Living underground, for instance. Not ideal.
MOSCOW – A self-proclaimed prophet had a vision from God: He would build an Islamic caliphate under the earth.
The digging began about a decade ago, and 70 followers moved into an eight-level subterranean honeycomb of cramped cells with no light, heat or ventilation.
Children were born. They, too, lived in the cold underground cells for many years — until authorities raided the compound last week and freed 27 sons and daughters of the sect.
Ages 1 to 17, the children rarely saw the light of day and had never left the property, attended school or been seen by a doctor, officials said Wednesday.
Human moles, in other words. Not ideal. Not one of the better ways of living. Not responsible parenthood.
Not responsible parenthood.
I’d like to use stronger language. This is creepy; this is child abuse. This is, alas, all too normal for religion and religious fanatics and fundamentalists.
Kausik – My understatement was deliberate. I hope that’s obvious! I think this is horrible.
Plato’s Cave!
Ha! So it is. I hadn’t thought of that.
It’s a thought experiment!
I wonder how many children were born there. The one-year-old was born to a mother who hadn’t seen daylight in a decade – that can’t have been a healthy person. No medical personnel means no prenatal care. What did they eat? I’ll bet there were lots who simply didn’t survive.
Ah, but why not let people believe what they want? What’s the harm?
Sounds like the premise for a creepy sci fi movie.
I wish I could study follow-up reports on the impact this has had on the children’s brain development, etc.
I admit, the sci-fi freak in me got a little giddy at the thought of underground dwellers. Way cool.
Then I remembered that this isn’t fiction, but real people being tricked into living under inhuman conditions by a zealot and keeping their children from even seeing sunlight.
Now I just feel sad.