3 Billion Baby Machines
Disaster multiplies
birth by birth
the children spring up--consequential mushrooms
that destroy the forest grove.
Flying home from Northern California a few weeks ago I found my seat in a cubicle with three backward facing seats turned towards three forward facing seats. Four women, already actively engaged in conversation, occupied 4 of the 6 seats. Three voluble women in their 20s dominated the conversation while the fourth, an elderly woman of about 80, remained silent. One of the young women held a small infant, and as I took my seat she asked me with a smile if I liked babies. I replied that I liked kids OK although I thought six billion of them were more than the Earth could sustain.
The corners of her mouth inverted as her smile quickly faded, and a few moments of silence ensued. Then she turned to me and coldly suggested that I find another seat, apparently to the agreement of the other two young women. I felt it necessary to provide an explanation, so I said that although my kids were grown, I was concerned for the welfare of my children and grandchildren as well as the people of the Earth in general. Did she know that the human population had already depleted the oceans of 99% of their fish life, that two-thirds of the oceanic coral reefs were dead or dying, and that species were disappearing from the Earth at a rate of nearly 50,000 per year, all because of human activities? She nodded affirmatively but with a disapproving frown on her face; disapproving, I perceived, not because she questioned the factual matter I related, but because she seemed to feel it was impertinent of me to bring up the subject! Whether she had previously been aware of the statistics or not, I don't know, but I felt quite sure that I should keep my trap shut for the rest of the trip. I pulled out a manuscript, and tried, with only partial success, to work it over.
Meanwhile, the three young women talked nonstop about how they wanted to have babies, and how much they looked forward having lots of grandchildren. At the end of the trip, I was thoroughly frazzled. I would, in fact, have been more comfortable if I'd arranged to take another seat.
Before deplaning, I smiled a farewell, but only the 80 year old smiled back. I'd brought up a subject that the young women evidently considered offensive and inappropriate. No reconciliation was possible.
I understand the chilly reception I'd received. My younger daughter, Amanda, is pregnant, expecting her second child on their daughter's fifth birthday. My wife has instructed me in no uncertain terms that I was not to discuss my views or bring up the topic of population control in Amanda's presence. In fact, while I had pleasantly discussed related topics with my son-in-law, Greg, my ever-loving daughter had implied that she was only marginally interested. What is most upsetting in this regard is that of my three kids, Amanda is the most intellectually inclined! Yet when considering these all-important issues, her emotions rather than her reason, dominate the scene. Why? Because "the mind is the rightful servant of the heart." What we most want, we will try to get, regardless of the possible consequences. We prefer to live for the here and now, even though our actions may bring disaster upon our children's children at some ill-defined time. Besides, "everyone else is doing it, why shouldn't I?" Finally, we follow the belief that no one person can solve the problems that face us unless there's a major effort, preferentially an international effort, and no such international effort is presently on the horizon.
While these points of view are certainly valid, I maintain that all "free" citizens who choose to limit their reproductive rights confer benefit to their offspring as well as the offspring of other world citizens. We need to think and act both individually and globally if we are to ward off the disaster that is soon likely to befall the human population. We, as individuals, as nations and as an international community must assume responsibility. Instead of perpetuating unhealthy traditional value systems that encourage reckless growth and damage to the environment, we must establish an ideology of preservation and respect for our surroundings and our own species. Judging by the attitude of my plane companions, many people are not willing to act against overpopulation, automatically rendering the prospect of lowering the human population impossible. Are we willing? Can we do it? These are the questions that need to be answered affirmatively at all costs.