Lauren Nelson is an advocate and aspiring ally focused on intersectional justice. When she's not gabbing on social media or chasing after her precocious seven year old, you'll find her researching and writing extensively on the subjects of politics, policy, culture, neurodiversity, and faith for The Friendly Atheist and Rethink the Rant.
There are very good reasons to adopt children, starting with the fact that there are more than 100,000 kids in the U.S. alone who are in need of a home. That number skyrockets when you take a global perspective. I’ve got a lot of respect for folks willing to open their homes and hearts to these children. It’s not easy or cheap or simple. I have cousins who were adopted from India and Ethiopia, and I watched my family navigate what was a very long and complicated process in order to bring them home. I’m incredibly grateful they did. My cousins are, objectively, pretty awesome. But if there’s one thing I learned from watching our family grow through adoption, it’s that it’s so important to approach that process with humility and thoughtfulness. Unfortunately, that seems to be a lesson others still need to learn. Case in point? Aaron Halbert and his wife. In a stunningly tone-deaf and self-congratulatory essay for the Washington Post, Halbert makes his case for why his family picture is “a little hint of Heaven” here on Earth. His primary argument? He and his white evangelical wife have five children of color. Read more
