Fruit Flies and the Sanctity of Life

I was reading a New York Times article about how a scientist managed to gain insights into the genetics of lifespan by manipulating the lifespan of fruit flies. (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/science/06conv.html) I started thinking about that in relation to stem cell research, and I reached a question: What is the difference between genetically manipulating humans and genetically manipulating animals, or even fruit flies?

The main argument against stem cell research that uses stem cells from human embryos is that extracting embryonic stem cells destroys human life. You know, that the scientists are messing with God's work. But no one hears any protest from these people about killing or manipulating other forms of life. Like Michael Rose, the fruit fly scientist: no complaints from the Right there.

What is it that makes life so sacred when we only protest the destruction of human life and nothing else? Are other forms of life not sacred, too? George Carlin commented that, if everything that once lived is dead, and everything that's alive is gonna die, where does the sacred part come in? Religious conservatives only seem to be concerned with themselves, because of an ideology that puts human beings at the top of this earthly kingdom, second only to the Lord Almighty, who of course made us in His image. I don't think we're all that sacred if we go to war with eachother any chance we get. If life is so sacred, how come the religious conservatives are not opposed to the war? How come they didn't flash a huge red light when President George W. Bush said we were going after Saddam Hussein? Christianity is supposed to induce peace, not another reason for war.

Religious conservatives need to get their priorities straight and reconsider their values. Good, Christian values include pacifism, tolerance, and forgiveness of others' sins. Christianity is not about favoring ourselves over others. If Christians go after the destruction of human embryos, they must go after the war mongers, too. If they don't, they are only hypocrites, and their Lord Jesus Christ looks down sadly upon them. In a paraphrase of Bob Marley, they think they're in heaven, but they're goin' straight to hell. Wake up, "christian" America. See how you slowly die a long, suffering death.