What is Madonna Thinking?

Everyone doing an adoption — whether domestic or international, rich or poor, famous or not — should follow the same set of requirements established by the United States and other countries who are signatories of the Hague Treaty. It fascinates me that we second guess the motivation of those who are personally unknown to us (i.e. celebrities)Iwonder why everyone thinks that they can figure out what Madonna is thinking. That most publications have alluded to Madonna’s willful violation of Malawi laws, contending that she defied the judges and the community in Malawi is shocking. Where is the proof? Why should anyone be judged about their motivation to create a family whether through adoption or the old-fashioned way — who cares? If you are a responsible parent, then it shouldn’t matter why you want to have a child.It amazes me that someone would argue that heritage and cultural identity is what matters most in a child’s life. To throw out all the thoughtfulness of developmental psychologists and pediatricians around the need for a child to grow up as part of a family is mind-boggling. And yet discussions online and in newspapers appear to be doing just that.There are 145 million orphans in the world and though they should all have families that is not an efficient or realistic approach. What we need is to rebuild communities and help families to grow and stay together so that there are no more orphans.

Everyone should stop whining and judging and instead help provide better lives for orphaned children. That doesn’t mean you have to adopt, let’s be innovative and creative in finding ways to end the dreadful inequities in the lives of women and children around the world.

Stop picking on Madonna and other celebrities. Instead focus your energy on solving the tragic problem of children living alone in the world.