We have one child that is genetically related to us and two that are trans racially adopted. The adopted children are not related to each other, in our house of six (counting our exchange student from Germany) we have a wide diversity of ethnic backgrounds.

We have made many friends through the adoptive community, and we have a close friend that also has a bio son in addition to her two adopted children. We hang out quite a lot, and her son is big into Star Wars and specifically into the Fett family.

The other day her son was telling an adult about the relationship of Boba to Jango Fett, explaining that Boba was Jango's son. The adult was trying to explain that Boba wasn't really the son of Jango, but was a clone who Jango chose to raise "as if" Boba was his son. Naturally, this distinction was lost on the boy, who really has no concept that children are genetically the product of two parents that they live with. Fine, he knows he is related to his parents, but he also knows that his sisters are not.

To him, bloodline doesn't matter.

The same is true in our home. It doesn't matter where you were born or who your natural parents were, you are now our children. We are a family because we all love each other. Just as it is possible to love an unrelated spouse it is also possible to love your adopted children.

The Mandalorian culture was the same way. They kept the ranks of their culture rich by adopting orphans that caught their eye. It didn't matter to them if the child was a war orphan or the child of a bounty, a friend's child or a stranger on the street. If the child needed a home, and they could provide one, they adopted the child as their own.

Bloodline doesn't matter. Relationships do.

I've often heard the phrase "blood is thicker than water" repeated. Why is this? Is it really? We all will at some point love someone who is not genetically related to us. Is this any less special than loving individuals who are genetically related to us? It isn't, and it shouldn't be.

What can we learn from the Mandalorians? Why are we so obsessed about "us" versus "them?" When there is a need, can we really just walk away and leave it to someone else to sort out?