I am Native American.

No, really, I am. Ignore the blonde hair, blue eyes and freckles--technically, as I am 1/16 Cherokee, I just barely meet the "blood quantum" required for enrollment with the Cherokee tribe.
 
And theoretically speaking, if my life were very different than it is and my brother and I had at one point ended up as candidates for adoption, we could have found ourselves being forced to live on a reservation with people we’d never met, regardless of the wishes of my immediate, non-Native-American family members. (see article)
 
Anyone who knows me also knows that the last thing I am is racist, so obviously I would have nothing against N.A. tribes wishing to preserve their customs, heritage, etc. But, as highly as I value each race's heritage and uniqueness, there is something that I value infinitely higher: humanity. Just simple, freakin' humanity. There is nothing humane about placing children in a home where they are exposed to physical harm just because of an outdated, nearly 30-year-old law that has been expanded well beyond its original context and intent.

I've known for several years that I will eventually want to adopt at least one child. For the past year or so, in spite of the trend to adopt children from 3rd world countries, I've really think I will adopt from the States. Sometimes I don't think people realize that just because a child is in the United States doesn't necessarily mean he or she is living any better than a child in Developing Country X. (again, just read the article)
 
Everyone's heard the stories about American parents who had to go to insane measures, time, expense, etc. to be able to bring their child home from China.
 
What doesn't make sense to me is how screwed-up the adoption system is just in America itself. Why do social services/adoption agencies have such bad reps when it comes to facilitating good adoptions? Why do we hear so many stories of healthy families put through hell just because of the occasional "know-it-all" SS rep who thinks he/she knows what's best for the children they barely even know? I know it probably boils down to selfish people who have their "rights," plus impersonal governmental standards and laws that are full of unrealistic, bureaucratic red tape.
 
It really gets under my skin, if you didn't notice.