Word: birth
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...grown up as an American, learned my country's history. But birth and knowledge alone do not a citizen make. It often takes some great communal happening to make one feel truly connected to one's heritage and place. Every now and then an event marks the time for us with striking clarity. No matter how much sorrow lingers for the nation and the world after Sept. 11, no matter what fears we will have to accept, no matter how much anger we harbor, we're all in this together now. Isn't that what makes a nation? CHRISTOPHER KERNS...
...families in trouble, babies often represent a last chance at salvation, a belief that somehow their innocence and purity can breathe new life into something gone dull or awry. In the giant, dysfunctional family that is modern Japan, then, the birth of a baby princess on Saturday offers, at long last, a glimmer of hope, some feel-good news to lift the collective spirit and hold out the promise of a national rejuvenation. And maybe even boost the stock market. An absurd notion, sure, but there hasn't been much of anything to cheer about in Japan...
...this weekend.) But even before the Emperor sent his new grandchild a traditional sword, before the little princess had her first bath in a sacred cedar tub, and before she was outfitted with a hakama, or ceremonial skirt, the expectations for her were high. An economist estimated her birth could generate more than $1 billion worth of consumer spending, including grannies showering gifts on their grandkids. Doctors have predicted a mini baby boom, as parenting-resistant youth, who have given Japan one of the lowest birth rates in the world, decide to do their own procreating, inspired by Princess Masako...
...Beneath the veneer of respect and admiration for the royals, there is still residual resentment over the role of Hirohito in Japan's wartime aggression. "I don't like the royal family very much," says a 27-year-old journalist who turned down an assignment to cover the royal birth because of her distaste for the imperial system. "It's nice to celebrate the birth, since they have been waiting so long. But it's just a baby. The royal family still has to bear responsibility for World War II." Acutely aware of this lingering sentiment, the royals...
...result, “[The birth control movement] has become perhaps the most dynamic and destructive social movement in the United States, and is sweeping throughout the world,” she said...