Writing for Commentary Magazine’s blog, James Kirchick discusses the recent news about Arthur Miller and his son Daniel and re-evaluates Miller’s legacy in the process. (Vanity Fair recently documented Miller’s decision to institutionalize his son Danny at birth upon learning that Danny has Down syndrome. Earlier stories here and here.)

Kirchick says Miller’s choice “ought to damage permanently Miller’s reputation, if not as a writer, (then) as a humanitarian.”

“Attention must be paid.” This line, spoken by Linda Loman, wife of Willy Loman, the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, is one of the most famous lines in American drama. Through Linda, Miller pointed out the intrinsic value of a human life, no matter how problematic its condition. How tragic that he ignored his own admonition.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 8:35 am and is filed under Down syndrome, celebrities, history, institutionalization, public attitudes, stigma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.