"IGM might change attitudes toward the human person, the nature of human reproduction, and parent-child relationships, " they reported.

BBC: Scientists oppose human gene modification

But individual choices have broader consequences, and a society in which young women routinely freeze their eggs could develop very different attitudes about children and the arc of a human life.

WSJ: The Ethics of Egg Freezing

In any case, by comparison with most other parts of the world, and with any other era of human history, the United States and western Europe are converging in their attitudes to danger.

ECONOMIST: America, Europe and the management of danger: A hazardous comparison | The

There are some obvious choices -- Nobel Prize winners such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, who have tirelessly fought for human rights, or those like Wangari Maathai, who have helped change attitudes towards the environment.

CNN: Which African do you most admire?

This does not necessitate a return to the colonial attitudes of the past, but rather a keener appreciation of our unique human, physical and political advantages.

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