On page 4 of his book Tribes, Seth Godin wrote, “The Internet eliminates geography.” We know this to be true when we communicate in real time through interactive video with friends half way around the world.

Trouble is — the adoption community hasn’t yet figured out how to catch up to that reality.

Adoptions across county and state borders and across public/private differences still smack up against state laws that confine us. We are still “fenced in” by our own perceptions. And all the while I keep waiting to hear a parent insist on adopting a child from her own county. I’ve never heard a child say that most important thing is to be adopted by a family from Lakewood, or Clayton, or Burlington – or any other community.

I don’t think love or longing recognize geography.

Professor Randy Pausch created a computer engineering lab at Carnegie Mellon University called “Building Virtual Worlds”. He enrolled students from multiple disciplines and divided them into teams. The teams included actors, English majors and sculptors mixed with the expected — engineers, math majors and computer geeks. But he thought diversity was a necessary ingredient in order to create something dynamic.

He said he wanted to force the students to achieve something they couldn’t possibly do alone. And the results exceeded expectations.

Professor Pausch eliminated geography. He broke down the barriers of academic discipline, and his students came up with virtual worlds that included you-are-there white water rafting, loveable 3D creatures, and roller-skating ninjas. (You can read about his approach in his book, The Last Lecture.)

I guess there will always be map-makers and people who like the certainty of borders neatly drawn and observed.

But I wonder what would happen if we were to bust out of the beliefs and rules that confine us. What innovations would help us create a world where adoption borders would become invisible?

I don’t mean to over-simplify the issues of government jurisdiction and ensuring that children who are moved from one place to another are kept safe. But the Carnegie Mellon model makes me wonder whether we’ve had all of the best thinkers at the table when we’ve talked about inter-state adoptions. What would the poets and mathematicians and engineers suggest?

How would you recommend that we eliminate geography in adoption?


P.S. If you’re interested in eliminating geography, you might want to visit the Children’s Gallery at www.adoptex.org. There are children from eight different states who would love to have you cross the borders.


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