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A much better method would be to develop reversible sterilization procedures and sterilize everyone at birth.
When they have attained the proper age and met the prevailing social criteria, the procedure could be temporarily reversed and they would be allowed to breed.
If it actually could be done, it would be a wonderful idea.
Yes, which is sad. I've gotten my share of snide comments about not 'carrying on the family name.' Luckily, I am great at ignoring people when I want to. The way I see it, there are already however many billion families spreading names (in an exponential fashion), for whatever purpose that's supposed to serve. There is no point of me compounding the problem. I have brains enough to understand that we live on a finite world with finite resources. I also have brains enough to see what happens in nature when a population of organisms grows beyond its means of support.
Thank you so very much, I wish many, many more people had the wisdom you do.
On another note: Anyone read the news where China has relaxed their strict one child policy because they need more workers ??? Just curious. Sorry in advance if this has already been discussed. I just saw it last week on CNN.
Consider that a one child policy will produce a drop of half in a generation. When that generation reproduces it again halves the population. And with the desire for male offspring, that will work out that you reproduce only the famale population. Weather this was considered at the start or not is unknown, butat some point when population has reached a desired level you have to go to a two child policy to maintain it. And that you won't maintain population levels over time with this if male children are favored because you'll at best double the number of females. And not every woman will have children either by choice or infertility. China's policy has cut their population but the generation that preceeded it are still around. I think they are looking at the number of young energetic Chinese over the sheer number of population now.
Yes, amazingly, I agree with you! If human beings are so selfish and self centered that they care only about themselves and their immediate families, clans, communities, etc., then they are way too stupid to survive long term, and they will not. Maybe, just maybe, the few do survive global catastrophe, will evolve in a "smarter" way!
That is how it generally works. Disease picks those with the better immune systems. Famine with the most creative ways of living. Simple upheval and change gives the advantage to those who think out of the box and with a clear mind in the middle of chaos.
Not everyone has a survival sense and unless life HAS fallen out from under you you won't know until it does But looking at the cycles of human society and change and population waves, when change is massive and breaks the mold, the beginning is terrible but the process ends up creating something new and functional.
Of course, when chaos reins, we revert back to the most basic, the tribal. Bigger than immediate family, but not so big its impersonal. Just the size to survive. And generally centered upon its own survival. So its not so strange that we gather in tribes of various sizes and complexity and when life is challenging look at us first.
I have a great nephew with a history of brain tumors, he is 22 years old and currently has one on his brain stem... a BAD one that is going to kill him. He is getting treatment for it to prolong his life. Under Obamacare, I am afraid it would be deemed NOT cost effective and he just allowed to just die.
I may be setting off a furor by using your post as a stepping stone for my contribution to this thread and would ask you not take it personally or in the wrong vein as it is just that, a stepping stone.
That said, I think one major problem we have in this "civilized nation" is not the ability to create and prolong life through technological advances but the fact that it's done so readily. In the natural order of things it's "survival of the fittest." The runts and the deformed either abort naturally or die shortly after birth (for a variety of reasons including deliberate parental neglect, parental infanticide.) The old and the infirm die when their course is over.
Now we (humans) not only accept the use of fertility drugs to facilitate childbearing but we heroically embrace the preservation of the lives of babies born either way too early or too horribly damaged to otherwise survive on their own. The aged and infirm are kept alive likewise - and in so many cases are forced to keep breathing against their will unless they wrote down their wishes to the contrary at some earlier time!
Am I the only one who finds this all rather bizarrely Orwellian?
That said, I think one major problem we have in this "civilized nation" is not the ability to create and prolong life through technological advances but the fact that it's done so readily. In the natural order of things it's "survival of the fittest." The runts and the deformed either abort naturally or die shortly after birth (for a variety of reasons including deliberate parental neglect, parental infanticide.) The old and the infirm die when their course is over.
You are correct. Also, its not just the birth of runts and the deformed. There are a lot of people in this country as well as other countries who do not have the intelligence or the mental capability to produce even what they need to survive. Many of these people would perish as well but we do what we can to prevent that.
As a result, these people continue to reproduce and have many more off spring than average. More often than not these off spring are illegitimate. More often than not the mother does not know who the father of her children are and the fathers have no idea who their children are. These people cannot even take care of themselves. They should have no children and yet end up having many more than the rest of the society that is carrying and supporting them.
I saw a segment on CNN recently about Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. There was a doctor who operated on a woman who would have died in child birth. It was her 14th child! Luckily he was able to save her life and that of her new born daughter. She could actually go ahead and have more children now and her daughter could have another 14.
I don't know what can be done but this is ridiculous! If we keep this up these people will out number the people who are supporting them. Those would be the people who have the ability to produce more than what they need to survive and whose taxes go to foreign aide and welfare. This is unsustainable.
I knew I shouldn't have read this thread. I'm disgusted.
I just can't help but thinking about the many poor people who have in history changed our lives for the better...where would we be as a society if population control limited them? Regardless of anyone's opinions about welfare, WIC, and CHIP programs, it is the duty and should be the priority of the current generation to do everything in their power to protect the next generation.
Excuse me while I go feed my very precious infant.
I knew I shouldn't have read this thread. I'm disgusted.
I just can't help but thinking about the many poor people who have in history changed our lives for the better...where would we be as a society if population control limited them? Regardless of anyone's opinions about welfare, WIC, and CHIP programs, it is the duty and should be the priority of the current generation to do everything in their power to protect the next generation.
Excuse me while I go feed my very precious infant.
Who are they?
I have a big problem with people who have no intention, no ability to support their children who go ahead and have them expecting that others must have incomes confiscated to support their children.
You breed 'em, you feed 'em. I don't have a problem with poor people but I have a big problem with lazy irresponsible people having babies they can never support.
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