Brilliant piece. Climate apocalypse fearmongering is anti-human demoralization. Extinction Rebellion pushes people to stop having children because it reduces carbon emissions. Substacks like Gen Dread and HEATED are sad examples of Zoomers who have been emotionally broken by propaganda.
You can see the consequences all too well. Replacement by people who hate you and want to destroy your progeny and way of life and replace it with robotic slaves to the Satanic Verses. Globalism is a suicide pact. All the beauty of the ages will be destroyed. And a new darkness will descend unless the West wakes up from it fever dreams.
"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times."
G. Michael Hopf
It seems like we're approaching hard times. There's a surfeit of weak men. Just look at who's president. So, optimist that I am, I'm predicting the coming of strong men followed by good times.
“Fewer humans are being produced, suggesting a slump in the value of new human life.”
Approximately 1 in 5 pregnancies in the US ends in voluntary abortion. (Guttmacher Institute) A “slump in the value of human life” indeed.
If this were happening with any other species, we’d want to know what was driving mothers to do this to their offspring. It’s a deeply unnatural act. But to admit this is too messy, too threatening. So we focus on defending our right to do it instead.
I write this waiting for the birth of my 3rd grandchild in Israel. I was supposed to go there a few weeks ago to babysit the 3.5 & 2 year old. Talk about a terrible situation. My son was called to serve in the reserves, but stayed at home to be with his family. There seem to be a playground every 100' feet in Israel, something I don't see here. As the saying goes, if I knew grandchildren were this much fun, I would have had them first. Pray for everyone....
Nonsense! High world population is a recent phenomenon. It only became possible after the Industrial Revolution and modern medicine (the germ theory of disease), both starting around 1800. Prior to that, infant mortality was so ubiquitous and 'normal' that no one bothered to keep statistics. Women died in childbirth and men died of sepsis from even minor battle wounds. Droughts and floods were followed by mass starvation. In short, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ran free.
A world population of less than a billion would mean no pollution to speak of, no human caused global warming, no mass shootings because antisocial young men would be out wandering in deserts and other empty landscapes, just to name a few of the benefits.
I too am frightened by recent horrible events and cannot imagine the pain and horror of losing or watching someone hurt a child. I spent decades working in the environmental field...and recall coming out of college full of fear from listening to the 70's zero population propaganda. I recall learning of the perils of global warming and global cooling --in the same lecture, no less!! One or the other horrible ends was surely to be our end. Gratefully I emerged out the other side of this mindset. So maybe it seems an indulgence to the haters of humans, but spending time with babies and kids in my family gives me so much joy and hope, and even if just for a few hours, can take me completely out of my own misery. But the biggest thing is how babies show me just how incredible, astonishing, and worthwhile life and humans can be. And who am I to stop life?
As a parent myself who derives incredible joy from my three children, I frankly feel sorry for people who have opted out of that joy.
BUT. I also recognize that not everyone is cut out to be a parent. And I respect the choices other people make about their own lives & their own destinies.
Other factors come into play in declining birth rates as well. There are far fewer unintended pregnancies today than there may have been when your children were born, Mr. Guerri. Compared with earlier eras, people today start having their children later, which is probably connected with an overall sense of economic uncertainty.
Also, in their brief lives, Zoomers have been confronted with end game scenarios that I don't remember growiing up (although I DO remember being told to duck and cover beneath my deskk as a school child in NYC—I think somehow that was suppposed to save me from incineration in case of a nuclear attack.)
COVID had a devestating effect on birthrates. (There was a similar effect following the Spanish flu epidemica although that one, of course, is difficult to separate out from the effects of WWI.) Plus, of course, we're playing whack-a-mole with WWIII. (It didn't break out in Ukraine? Wait! Maybe it will break out in Gaza!) Neither of these things stokes the desire to reproduce.
Something I see today, in addition to the apocalyptic drumbeat, is an obsession on self and bodily perfection, the obesity epidemic notwithstanding. Cosmetic surgery ads are everywhere, and we read stories of celebrities who use surrogates. Gotta keep that bod looking like it's 20 and can keep partying. I hope my children someday enjoy the wonder of having children themselves. Having children is the most beautiful thing I've accomplished in my life.
I don't mean to scold. I just mean to ask you to express yourself without ad-hominem attacks. I am interested in hearing what you have to say but personal attacks on people make your writing hard to read and your opinions easy to dismiss.
Only a few commenters I have read (so far) touch on my questions: Isn’t the world over populated? We have surpassed 8 billion people on this planet. In 1927 there were 2 billion. In approximately 100 years we have added 6 billion. I am no math wiz, but it seems an exponential growth on a small planet. We are edging out wildlife, polluting our oceans and waterways, and air pollution, although not as bad as the 70’s, is still an issue. During the pandemic when humans stood still for awhile we saw the air clear, as one tiny example.
I am an anti natalist for a few reasons: I don’t want to impose human life on someone. And if the human population shrinks maybe the wildlife, oceans and air will clear for those of you who want a better world and life for your offspring,
I didn’t ask to be born. No one asks to be born. Most people’s comments lead me to think y’all live pretty privileged lives in which you don’t worry about food security, safe water to drink, easy transportation, etc. And it also seems, with so many waxing poetic about having a family, that you came from loving families and have created the same. Bully for you. I didn’t have children for a few reasons, chiefly because of the family I came from. I didn’t want to, not only impose life on another, but I didn’t want to set loose the genes in my family that are violent and narcissistic. I worried I would not be able to overcome those propensities and turn on a tiny baby the way my father had done. My husband and I should be thanked for not procreating.
So back to my main wonder: why is 8 billion on the planet a good idea?
BTW ‘hedonistic binge’? Such a judgmental piece. Here’s a bit of judgment, a line from an old movie, Planet of the Apes: Man is a plague upon the Earth. There, I said it.
Children are the hope for the future, since their arrival, by no means to belittle the challenge of raising them, speaks to the promise of something new.
The prolonged adolescence of my generation and the generation below in Gen z, presents an interesting challenge. Just last night at a party someone made the comment that the older generations needed to die off so that the younger could step in and start running things—specifically work from home. While said in jest, it speaks to the mindset that having kids and creating extended family communities is not the important factor here, but that our triumph and progress is impeded by the “grownups” who deny us adult rites of passage and opportunities.
There’s an old saying: adults don’t make children, children make adults. But when all the adults are in various stages of adolescence, afraid to have children and take on “responsibilities”, what are we as a society to do?
When people feel they are part of something greater than themselves you will frequently see them have more children. It can be part of a new religion or new country (I think this can explain the number of children secular Israeli women have) or other movement. This used to be present when there was more interest in religion for example. For many, it is not there.
Funny how you had to throw in the threat of Donald Trump causing GenZ not to want children. I take it you support the Democrat party - the party that brings climate hysteria to our children, convincing them there is no future, so why have children?
I think Trump and his Republican Party welcome children, celebrate the family, have hope in America. The Democrats, no. America is evil, we are all oppressors, don’t bring children into this malice that is America. Sorry, but this is what Democrats now profess, and Trump Americans dispute it and find your alliance self fulfilling.
Brilliant piece. Climate apocalypse fearmongering is anti-human demoralization. Extinction Rebellion pushes people to stop having children because it reduces carbon emissions. Substacks like Gen Dread and HEATED are sad examples of Zoomers who have been emotionally broken by propaganda.
Anyone who pushes ESG and the climate narrative is causing harm to our economy, democracy, and young people: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/how-to-raise-your-esg-score
You can see the consequences all too well. Replacement by people who hate you and want to destroy your progeny and way of life and replace it with robotic slaves to the Satanic Verses. Globalism is a suicide pact. All the beauty of the ages will be destroyed. And a new darkness will descend unless the West wakes up from it fever dreams.
"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times."
G. Michael Hopf
It seems like we're approaching hard times. There's a surfeit of weak men. Just look at who's president. So, optimist that I am, I'm predicting the coming of strong men followed by good times.
“Fewer humans are being produced, suggesting a slump in the value of new human life.”
Approximately 1 in 5 pregnancies in the US ends in voluntary abortion. (Guttmacher Institute) A “slump in the value of human life” indeed.
If this were happening with any other species, we’d want to know what was driving mothers to do this to their offspring. It’s a deeply unnatural act. But to admit this is too messy, too threatening. So we focus on defending our right to do it instead.
I write this waiting for the birth of my 3rd grandchild in Israel. I was supposed to go there a few weeks ago to babysit the 3.5 & 2 year old. Talk about a terrible situation. My son was called to serve in the reserves, but stayed at home to be with his family. There seem to be a playground every 100' feet in Israel, something I don't see here. As the saying goes, if I knew grandchildren were this much fun, I would have had them first. Pray for everyone....
Nonsense! High world population is a recent phenomenon. It only became possible after the Industrial Revolution and modern medicine (the germ theory of disease), both starting around 1800. Prior to that, infant mortality was so ubiquitous and 'normal' that no one bothered to keep statistics. Women died in childbirth and men died of sepsis from even minor battle wounds. Droughts and floods were followed by mass starvation. In short, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ran free.
A world population of less than a billion would mean no pollution to speak of, no human caused global warming, no mass shootings because antisocial young men would be out wandering in deserts and other empty landscapes, just to name a few of the benefits.
I too am frightened by recent horrible events and cannot imagine the pain and horror of losing or watching someone hurt a child. I spent decades working in the environmental field...and recall coming out of college full of fear from listening to the 70's zero population propaganda. I recall learning of the perils of global warming and global cooling --in the same lecture, no less!! One or the other horrible ends was surely to be our end. Gratefully I emerged out the other side of this mindset. So maybe it seems an indulgence to the haters of humans, but spending time with babies and kids in my family gives me so much joy and hope, and even if just for a few hours, can take me completely out of my own misery. But the biggest thing is how babies show me just how incredible, astonishing, and worthwhile life and humans can be. And who am I to stop life?
As a parent myself who derives incredible joy from my three children, I frankly feel sorry for people who have opted out of that joy.
BUT. I also recognize that not everyone is cut out to be a parent. And I respect the choices other people make about their own lives & their own destinies.
Other factors come into play in declining birth rates as well. There are far fewer unintended pregnancies today than there may have been when your children were born, Mr. Guerri. Compared with earlier eras, people today start having their children later, which is probably connected with an overall sense of economic uncertainty.
Also, in their brief lives, Zoomers have been confronted with end game scenarios that I don't remember growiing up (although I DO remember being told to duck and cover beneath my deskk as a school child in NYC—I think somehow that was suppposed to save me from incineration in case of a nuclear attack.)
COVID had a devestating effect on birthrates. (There was a similar effect following the Spanish flu epidemica although that one, of course, is difficult to separate out from the effects of WWI.) Plus, of course, we're playing whack-a-mole with WWIII. (It didn't break out in Ukraine? Wait! Maybe it will break out in Gaza!) Neither of these things stokes the desire to reproduce.
Something I see today, in addition to the apocalyptic drumbeat, is an obsession on self and bodily perfection, the obesity epidemic notwithstanding. Cosmetic surgery ads are everywhere, and we read stories of celebrities who use surrogates. Gotta keep that bod looking like it's 20 and can keep partying. I hope my children someday enjoy the wonder of having children themselves. Having children is the most beautiful thing I've accomplished in my life.
I don't mean to scold. I just mean to ask you to express yourself without ad-hominem attacks. I am interested in hearing what you have to say but personal attacks on people make your writing hard to read and your opinions easy to dismiss.
I think the best reason to have children is you don’t want to die alone. Friends are nice but family is better.
And you just know Trump is the reason for zoomers being wusses amiright? What a boogie man
Only a few commenters I have read (so far) touch on my questions: Isn’t the world over populated? We have surpassed 8 billion people on this planet. In 1927 there were 2 billion. In approximately 100 years we have added 6 billion. I am no math wiz, but it seems an exponential growth on a small planet. We are edging out wildlife, polluting our oceans and waterways, and air pollution, although not as bad as the 70’s, is still an issue. During the pandemic when humans stood still for awhile we saw the air clear, as one tiny example.
I am an anti natalist for a few reasons: I don’t want to impose human life on someone. And if the human population shrinks maybe the wildlife, oceans and air will clear for those of you who want a better world and life for your offspring,
I didn’t ask to be born. No one asks to be born. Most people’s comments lead me to think y’all live pretty privileged lives in which you don’t worry about food security, safe water to drink, easy transportation, etc. And it also seems, with so many waxing poetic about having a family, that you came from loving families and have created the same. Bully for you. I didn’t have children for a few reasons, chiefly because of the family I came from. I didn’t want to, not only impose life on another, but I didn’t want to set loose the genes in my family that are violent and narcissistic. I worried I would not be able to overcome those propensities and turn on a tiny baby the way my father had done. My husband and I should be thanked for not procreating.
So back to my main wonder: why is 8 billion on the planet a good idea?
BTW ‘hedonistic binge’? Such a judgmental piece. Here’s a bit of judgment, a line from an old movie, Planet of the Apes: Man is a plague upon the Earth. There, I said it.
So weird to know that the only species ever known to have both capabilities of reason and faith is hell-bent on creating its own extinction.
Children are the hope for the future, since their arrival, by no means to belittle the challenge of raising them, speaks to the promise of something new.
The prolonged adolescence of my generation and the generation below in Gen z, presents an interesting challenge. Just last night at a party someone made the comment that the older generations needed to die off so that the younger could step in and start running things—specifically work from home. While said in jest, it speaks to the mindset that having kids and creating extended family communities is not the important factor here, but that our triumph and progress is impeded by the “grownups” who deny us adult rites of passage and opportunities.
There’s an old saying: adults don’t make children, children make adults. But when all the adults are in various stages of adolescence, afraid to have children and take on “responsibilities”, what are we as a society to do?
When people feel they are part of something greater than themselves you will frequently see them have more children. It can be part of a new religion or new country (I think this can explain the number of children secular Israeli women have) or other movement. This used to be present when there was more interest in religion for example. For many, it is not there.
Funny how you had to throw in the threat of Donald Trump causing GenZ not to want children. I take it you support the Democrat party - the party that brings climate hysteria to our children, convincing them there is no future, so why have children?
I think Trump and his Republican Party welcome children, celebrate the family, have hope in America. The Democrats, no. America is evil, we are all oppressors, don’t bring children into this malice that is America. Sorry, but this is what Democrats now profess, and Trump Americans dispute it and find your alliance self fulfilling.