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Yes, to be a parent is a difficult and noble task. It deserves respect and admiration. And we need to perpetuate the species so we can continue to be the steward of life on Earth.
Because then we would be advocating the idea that humanity should die out, which is a disgusting idea.
I don't agree. I don't feel a person should be respected because they chose to have sex and make a kid. Producing kids is easy; reproduction by itself does not make a human worthy of respect and admiration. I respect people who work their asses off day in and day out to be good parents; those people who are consistently dedicated and support their children physically, emotionally, and financially.
As for the idea that we are the stewards of life on earth, if we are, we are horrible stewards. If we are the only ones stopping the planet from becoming extinct, perhaps us dying out wouldn't be such a bad thing, because there is a lot of scientific evidence suggesting our careful stewardship is the cause of its rapid demise. I'm not saying we should die out; only that we should change our ways and become the the stewards we really should be and not the destroyers.
I'm simply telling you the numbers. What do you want me to do? Cry all over my keyboard while I'm typing?
Hey look, you started this thread and you asked for opinions. You're getting mine. Do I want you to cry all over your keyboard? What an odd thing to ask.
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I'm not blase about what would happen, either during or after a major pandemic as you seem to accuse me of. I am simply pointing out that overpopulation on our planet is no figment of imagination and at this point, won't be solved by what used to be a very effective way: disease.
I care about the earth. And many, many people who don't want to have children give overpopulation as a reason to not reproduce. I'd say as a group, they're far more concerned about it than you are. Which means they care more for your kids and grandkids than you do.
OK so you think the world is overpopulated and that's your publicly stated reason for not having kids. Whoopie. If you want a medal for caring so much about the earth, you won't get one from me. And it's creepy to speculate how great the earth would be if only a few billion people would die.
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And no, you don't do the "heavy lifting" in life. We all contribute.
I think we do. Let's stop congratulating the high school students, people who live on the system, and those who continue to have unplanned kids and "Don't know what to do!", for popping out kids!
Hey look, you started this thread and you asked for opinions. You're getting mine. Do I want you to cry all over your keyboard? What an odd thing to ask.
I did, didn't I? But you were implying I didn't care enough about what would happen if we had a global pandemic. That's not exactly what I wanted your opinion on.
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OK so you think the world is overpopulated and that's your publicly stated reason for not having kids. Whoopie. If you want a medal for caring so much about the earth, you won't get one from me. And it's creepy to speculate how great the earth would be if only a few billion people would die.
Um, yes, I think the world is overpopulated. No, that's not the reason I didn't have kids. I just didn't want them (that's reason enough).
What was creepy about the earth back in 1900 when we had about 6 billion fewer people here?
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Thanks. Thanks a lot.
I'm not saying parents do no work. I just think they tend to overexaggerate the difficulty and the importance of it somewhat.
I don't think we're seriously going to run out of people in the near future. I'd personally like to see the world population get down to the levels they were around the early 19th century which were 1.6 billion people. I think those are far more sustainable levels than we have today.
Any pandemic with a kill rate of 50% (which is pretty high) is only going to lower the population to 3.8 billion people, still more than double what it was in 1900. So even the worst disease possible isn't going to stop people from over populating the world.
That's a very sobering thought.
A reduction of about 79% of the worlds population would be beneficial? At the risk of sounding cliche (like the tv commercial); that's not how it works.
Perspective: Detroit. Population decline from it's peak in 1950 to 2017 was 37%. Abandoned buildings overtaken by trees, urban decay, rampant crime & abject poverty ... And what you suggest would double that decline & on a global scale.
So much for agricultural technology, species conservation, forestry services, national parks, strong military, 1st world healthcare or law enforcement. We need people. Healthy, well-educated people.
We need to re prioritize health care; the biggest risk is not measles (fever & spots?). Even Ebola has nothing on the neurological horror of 1 in every 45 children now suffering developmental delay. We don't need to spend millions in Africa on spotless surgical theaters that only do sterilization when IV fluids would save thousands from Malaria.
We need babies. Healthy & happy babies. If you don't personally want them, that's fine; not everbody does babies best; there are other contributions to be made but population decline isn't the answer to our problems. That's actually just not how any of this works.
I wonder how many parents actually don't like being parents and won't say so because they know they will be mercilessly attacked for admitting the truth. I know some must not like it.
My favorite bumper sticker follows this line of thinking.....
"Only the best mommies get to be grandmommies"....
I smile everytime I see this one...
My grammie was mean and bitter, my mom was worse...
Mom did get a grandchild from my younger brother....
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