A great thread Rick – thanks for starting it. And thanks to sundry other contributors for their illuminating comments. Here's a small contribution to the debate.

As human beings, we are all similar – in some respects.
As individuals, we are all different – in some respects.
The difficulty is knowing when to emphasise the similarites, and when to respect the differences.

While still cherishing our links with the wider family of humanity, we may choose to emphasise our membership of smaller groups from time to time. But we should try to remember that these groupings – whether based on nationality, regionality, locality, sexuality, musicality, or what you will - are artificial, and re-negotiable.

(If that sounds daft, then remember that in the days of apartheid, the South African government once reclassified all Japanese as "whites", in order to facilitate a favourable trade deal with Japan. Likewise, when Ms Thatcher paid an official visit to the Saudis, they categorised her as a man, because their political vocabulary had no appropriate terms for addressing a female head of government. Oh, and how many fifty-somethings do you know who insist on behaving like teenagers most of the time? )

So, let's join any club we have a mind to, and then sing about what jolly good fellows we are for being members of it. But let's do it without forgetting our common humanity, or abandoning individual responsibility for our actions. And if we suddenly find ourselves ill at ease in a group where we once felt at home, then it may be time to move on. But it may just be a reminder that cloning is an ecological blind alley. In the world of ideas, as well as in the world of living things, diversity enriches the environment, while monoculture impoverishes it.

Here endeth the sermon.

Wassail!