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I've had the same concerns as the OP, with overpopulation, higher unemployment, climate change and a fight for resources being even more of a concern now than in the past. I made the compromise of adopting a foster child who was already created for this world. This way, the wife & I gain the joys of parenthood, while he is given a chance on a life he might not have otherwise had, and I can further my impression on the next generation without creating more mouths to feed.
+1. I've always told myself that I would adopt if I were to become a parent. One of my friends totally supports me on this. He noted while his sibs all have "real" kids, he hopes to adopt.
I remember reading on Huffington Post (HP) one woman wrote something about how it's the same thing... even better since you help the environment. Almost everyone agreed with her. People reached out to Victoria and David Beckham's rep. They asked why the couple chose not to adopt, but were of course ignored.
An HP admin responded: "Well, I would rather have my own kids than adopt. But to each their own." I'm assuming that's what my family had in mind, too. I honestly see nothing wrong with adoption whatsoever. We are the only group in my line who doesn't look or act alike anyway. The only gripe is that one day I'll have to explain to the litter: they were adopted.
I grew up with a father and mother that lived during the depression and obviously, the OP did not. I won't even go into the stories I heard again and again and how I had it so much better. Maybe those parents are going to produce the children that will change this all around. New life is a reason for joy. I wonder, do people study the history of the world anymore in school because I am thinking they must not. Yes, it is a challenging time but I'm thinking it always was for the generations in the past too.
I grew up with a father and mother that lived during the depression and obviously, the OP did not. I won't even go into the stories I heard again and again and how I had it so much better. Maybe those parents are going to produce the children that will change this all around. New life is a reason for joy. I wonder, do people study the history of the world anymore in school because I am thinking they must not. Yes, it is a challenging time but I'm thinking it always was for the generations in the past too.
What about overpopulation? Do we have enough resources and food, REALISTICALLY, for 7 billion people? What about the billion in Africa unnecessarily starving and dying because of the abuse and bad distribution of resources? Some people give birth to new people thinking they will always be babies. I believe a good way to cooperate is to stop reproducing for the next couple of decades and adopt and when the population reduces, then give birth to one, or two people. People having three, four for the sake of it is just increasing the rat race when they grow up, not another thing is that retirement will be lifted to 70 years that means old people will continue to work and the younger ones will have less opportunities, why is it so difficult for some to associate the pure basics of more people = more competition = less opportunities = more poverty, crime, depression?
STRATEGIES FOR MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE IN TERMS OF POPULATION (Utopian Approach)
1. For the next 30 years, give birth to one or two people per family AND ONLY THOSE FAMILIES THAT HAVE MADE THE PLAN THAT RESULTS IN LESS RISKS. 3+ kids is irresponsible. Families that are not ready and do not feel they have the necessary should NOT HAVE KIDS.
2. Stop surrogation. We don't need new people out of artificial methods while there are available in foster homes and adoption homes.
3. Homosexuals, Aromantic Asexuals, Heterosexual couples with one or both not being able to have children and normal couples that have it in their heart should be encouraged to adopt.
When the population of Earth has been balanced with the resources then we can resume the current procreation methods, but at this time I believe it is urgent to stop overpopulation. While I don't personally support abortion when a fetus has formed into a being that begins to show signs of feelings, people should be given education before having sex to consider ALL THE IMPLICATIONS of having kids, which come from regular stuff like rising them to prepare them for the real, cruel world. If not ready, they should be given all the ways of protecting themselves if abstinence is not an option.
Many people criticize China for their one-child policy but if we don't stop the current rate of birth or at least try to fix the issue with the available jobs and resources there will be a time in which the government here itself will have to make some serious decisions on procreation.
Also, thise people who have been proven to be very dangerous criminals who have killed people out of fun should be executed faster and stop this process of long years waiting. For example, the 2002 DC sniper should have been executed long time ago and not in 2009. He loved 7 more years unnecessarily and consumed part of the money people pay off taxes keeping him in prison.
CONSEQUENCES OF EXTREME OVERPOPULATION IN BLACK AND WHITE
Some people do not seem to understand the serious implications of overpopulation and the current world.
Today, technology has advanced a lot, and many jobs that were performed by people, therefore being paid for such work, are being replaced by machines, computers and technology.
Examples of things that were used to be done by people, and served as paid jobs:
Toll cashier
Travel agents
Shopping cashiers (slowly they have been replaced by self-serve cashiers)
Sellers
Many jobs which took time to be performed before and thus guaranteed the job for a long time for the people who did that job are now taking much less time, for example- engineers do not take that long now to design and analyze a system thanks to the aid of computer programs. Therefore, it is easier to have slow days at jobs, and if too many people are flund they have not much work to do, they can be terminated.
Those who work should really be more aware of the implications of overpopulation. Finding a job, almost any job, is highly competitive. Extreme competition IS NOT GOOD. People stay long months and even years trying to land a job and the recommendations given so far to improve possibilities are unrealistic: "make a better resume, network, talk to people, become a member of more associations"... Those are helpful but none will GUARANTEE you a job, today there is no guarantee of a job and each day, we are relying more and more on LUCK, which is certainly NOT GOOD.
This is now.
Now imagine in 25 years with 20 billion people how things will be IF WE DON'T CHANGE THE CURRENT REALITY.
it is not hard to understand.
You need to wake up.
This is not "repetition of history". In the last, prior to the 1900s there were not 1 billion peoole and all work was man-made. More technology means less man work which equals money savings because companies don't pay computers or machines for what they do which used to be done by humans.
I am quite sure that regardless of all the reasons and explanation I could give as per why I don't want (and won't have) children, and even some may understand me if I say them, the majority will still accuse me of being pessimistic, negative and such. So I won't bother you with the reasons just fair enough, I will not have children.
Now, let me express myself will all sincerity. I no longer see as something "great" when somebody announces that will be a parent. When I read or hear someone so excited about being a new mother or a new father, or the second time, or the third time, I feel like "are these people aware of the world we are living in"?
See at this point of my life, since I cannot force anyone to change their mind and it is really not my intention to do it anyway, I simply don't care when someone becomes a parent. What it really worries me is that the new person coming to this world filled with fierce competition and unemployment, as well as other serious issues that do not see any realistic solution in the horizon, the person will not have the life his parents would wish he or she will have.
Today, things are not easy. I know some people will not give hope to humanity. Some people will still believe that things will get better, that bullying will end, that corruption in the government will be eliminated and that society will improve. I believe personally that being delusionally positive in this sense does not do any good to the new humans inhabiting Earth. You see, there ARE SOLUTIONS to solve the problems of the world. But the society as a whole is not willing to do the necessary for such solutions to be executed. You can tell me that I should change my mind and work hard to help make the world better. The problem is that there is no way I can make the world better by myself. I could have a child and teach him and her of how life works, what things are wrong and right, and he or she could become someone respectable, but that does not mean or guarantee he or she will enjoy life as I would wish. You know that in today's economy, ANYONE could lose their jobs. See this is how corporations and government work today: earn more, pay less, take away the most possible of all financial benefits, reduce task force, substitute human labor with machines, and so forth. Today, a bunch of jobs that were performed by people are done by either technology of many jobs are done by one person, when it used to be done by two or more.
Cost of life is higher, and salaries are being halved or reduced in some manner. Today, most jobs require overtime, holiday work, even on-call and lots of travel. What does this mean? Yes... Exactly, less time with your family. In some jobs, a mother or father is sent overseas for a significant amount of time, especially in the military. I have in my family people who, he, the husband, has been on the military all his life, going from one place to another, while her wife stayed with the children, and today as far as I have been told, the children developed behavioral problems. Many people, as you know, end up divorced, for many different reasons.
You see I know this is not happening to all families but it is happing to a great number of them and the truth is that as the world works today, there is no guarantee you or I can guarantee that
1. When I have children I will have a stable, secure job which treats me fair (8-5, weekends off, holidays off, very few or no travel at all)
2. Will not be fired/laid off
3. Will find a job quickly if fired or laid off
These problems have always existed, but today they are becoming more possible. Tomorrow the sequester begins here in the U.S. and many families will be affected. You and I know children do not deserve any unnecessary suffering, like seeing their parents struggle with the economy and especially wondering if they will eventually lose what they have earned because of the greed and incompetence of some people. I choose to not have them, but I of course respect your decision and hopefully God help you to deal with the situations if you have that strong desire to become a parent.
I think couples should have children if they truly want children. However I think perspective parents ought to give it some real thought as to their motives for wanting children. They should ask themselves; Do I want a child because I want a child, or is it because I feel obligated, or society seems to dictate I should have a child, etc.
The people who truly have a desire to have children, want children because they want to have children. They do it to fulfill their own desires. They do not have a child for the sake of a yet-to-be-conceived child, and that is how it should be. It is the same for couples who opt not to have children. They are not having children because it does not fulfill any personal desire, and given that the human species is not about to go extinct from lack of numbers, should not be criticized for their decision.
I think couples should have children if they truly want children. However I think perspective parents ought to give it some real thought as to their motives for wanting children. They should ask themselves; Do I want a child because I want a child, or is it because I feel obligated, or society seems to dictate I should have a child, etc.
The people who truly have a desire to have children, want children because they want to have children. They do it to fulfill their own desires. They do not have a child for the sake of a yet-to-be-conceived child, and that is how it should be. It is the same for couples who opt not to have children. They are not having children because it does not fulfill any personal desire, and given that the human species is not about to go extinct from lack of numbers, should not be criticized for their decision.
Please refer to the posts above concerning overpopulation. If we want a better world we got to stop the current mindset. There is no other way.
rocreation for the majority of the populous is an occurrence that is neither planned for financially or otherwise nor is it something that those that are inclined to do so think out logically.
Concerning personal finances for the majority of the population that have children they are a drain, a liability and a disappointment.
The world as a whole is grossly overpopulated, take my word for it I've been to most countries that suffer from such and it's a picture that cannot be painted in words. Only seeing it for ones self can it fully impact your life as it has mine.
Disease, pestilence and starvation persists and increases despite billions and billions of U.S. dollars being spent to eradicate such atrocities.
The suffering of families living literally on top of each other begging, pleading and crying for just one more scrap of rancid meat or a piece of bread is something I would force you to watch.
I read your emotional based faulty arguments for having children which first makes me laugh then become angry at the naivety of those that worship the womb while throwing out the brain.
I believe some people do not want to see the basic correlation between giving birth and overpopulation. Most people who give birth children around the world are not educated enough to understand the implications of not having enough resources or the needed ability to raise a child. Realistically, we are going down the tubes. Delusional positivism is not going to do anything, the closest we can do is not worry and wait for the flooding to come (similar to what happened in Noah's days) since people will not listen.
I believe some people do not want to see the basic correlation between giving birth and overpopulation. Most people who give birth children around the world are not educated enough to understand the implications of not having enough resources or the needed ability to raise a child. Realistically, we are going down the tubes. Delusional positivism is not going to do anything, the closest we can do is not worry and wait for the flooding to come (similar to what happened in Noah's days) since people will not listen.
I agree completely that overpopulation has a lot to do with world problems and is a constantly growing problem. However I don't think beckoning people to focus on this coming crisis can be effective. I think the best strategy is to make it a personal examination for individual's reasons to have children. If people can be shown good reasons to have smaller families, or perhaps having no children at all, it would go a long way into curbing overpopulation. Of course this strategy has to be enacted also.
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