Stories of Unconditional Love: "This American Life," August 8, 2007

A while ago (08.31.2007,) Chicago Public Radio's This American Life with Ira Glass had an exceptional episode presenting two stories of unconditional love. I was especially moved by Heidi Solomon's story. She and her husband adopted a child who was neglected for seven years in a Romanian orphanage. As a result of this deprivation, they had to deal with his severe attachment disorder.

Listening, I remembered 1 John 4, and realized that in relation to God, we all suffer from severe attachment disroder.

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another....19 We love because he first loved us."

"If you're the kind of person who actually needs love--really needs love--chances are you're not the kind of person who's going to have the wherewithal to create it. Creating love is not for the soft and sentimental among us. Love is a tough business."--Alix Spiegel (minutes 33:35-36:00 into program)


Listen to the program here

317: Unconditional Love

Stories of unconditional love between parents and children, and how hard love can be sometimes in daily practice.

Prologue.
Hard as it is to believe, during the early Twentieth Century, a whole school of mental health professionals decided that unconditional love was a terrible thing to give a child. The government printed pamphlets warning mothers against the dangers of holding their kids. The head of the American Psychological Association and even a mothers' organization endorsed the position that mothers were dangerous—until psychologist Harry Harlow set out to prove them wrong, through a series of experiments with monkeys. Host Ira Glass talks with Deborah Blum, author of Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection. (10 minutes)

Act One. "Love Is a Battlefield."
Alix Spiegel tells the story of Heidi and Rick Solomon, who adopt a son raised under terrible circumstances in a Romanian orphanage—so terrible that he's unable to feel attachments to anyone. (27 minutes)
Song: "Loveless Town," Sarah Blust

Act Two. "Hit Me with Your Best Shot."
Dave Royko talks about the decision he and his wife faced about their autustic son's future, including whether their son should continue living with their family. (19 minutes)
Song: "I Wanna Be Loved," Buju Banton