A little more about North Korean orphan adoption

Perhaps less about the actual issue, and instead an observation about the online adoption community's approach to criticism of the bill.

First, I want to make this clear:

• I do not support HR 4896 and S 3156 as they stand - it's there and has been in this post.
• I do not support the opening of an adoption program in North Korea (if such a thing is even possible, which I highly doubt) or of the inclusion of children of North Korean origin in China adoption programs.
• I do support the possibility of adoption for some of the stateless children of North Korean origin in China.

For awhile now, I've been trying to understand if there is anything that can be done to bring the polar extremes in the adoption community together around a particular issue. To date, the result is a decided "no stinking way." I think there are a lots of reasons for that: if you or your child has been hurt by adoption, you will look at it through that prism; people (myself included - remember, I'm criticising my own behavior here) don't always understand the complexity of an issue; they're ideologues; or they're followers.

The release of the North Korean orphan adoption legislation has pushed this growing concern to the front of my radar screen. Normally, I would throw my negative opinion about the legislation's language out there and think I'd done my good deed for the day. But because of what I now know about North Korea and North Korean refugees, all I can see in the dismissals of this bill is a dismissal of the North Korean kids in China who are looking to the world for help.

I think we can do better. I honestly believe appropriate criticism of this bill, provided with suggestions for improvement, could lead us to legislation that helps the children who need help while avoiding the establishment of yet another demand-driven adoption program. But we need to offer some thoughts on that. We need to help the adoption-ignorant get a whole lot smarter than they are.

I know I've gotten caught up in those moments of criticism, when an obvious injustice or risk just takes over my brain, and words to that effect flow like water. I wonder how much damage I've done to adoption reform with that. Going forward I'm going to make sure that when I criticize, I include the improvements, too. You guys can keep me honest.

I'll start with this bill, but need to wait for the weekend for that.