I share Karl's view partially. As a childless man of 34, in a
developing country
I m appalled by the high levels of concience about the population
problem and the responsible attitudes shared.
I live in Costa Rica. And here the cultural views are quite
different.
Bearing children is one deep cultural direction here. Half of
children
born here are "accidents" beared by single mothers (usually teens
or post teens). Then getting married means bearing children
unquestionably.
Population control programs are seen as external impositions, and
the Catholic Church, opposes them fiercely. So this have been
watered down versions, which lack any effectivity.
Just by not "conceiving" children at young ages would drop
substantially
the population growth rates here. But Im really not sure how to do
that.
Jorge Montero.
Environmental Planner.
Costa Rica.
> As a man in my early twenties, I never wanted to have children, I thought,
> "this world is too hopeless to put any creature here to fight its way
> through". But as I found out that is just what life is. So now as a man
> in my late twenties I see the world still as hopeless as before, but
> children are the future, in the purest biological sense. And needing
> licenses for every little thing in our society, to become a mother or
> father requires no license whatsoever; the responsibility taken should be
> by far grater than can be expressed with a license. So in this sense why
> should I not take my tiny part of responsibly forming the future? Should I
> give up all hope now? Then I can just as well step over the cliff now! I
> think you must have children "responsibly", even if it means to ensure "an
> average 70 or so years of environmental degradation". According to this
> attitude, none of the great men and woman, whom we love and respect (I
> also
> mean your friends), would have been born, not even the person who says it
> himself! My parents had me and I am trying to do something useful
> responsibly. I think by having children as a relatively responsible member
> of society, I can give at least my children the guidance to become
> responsible members of the future and they will be "great" to someone.
> The
> future will show how miserably I fail ...
>
> PS: Maybe I am a hypocrite!
>
> PPS: I don't advocate a license for having children.
>
> PPPS: I feel sympathetic for people who can't have children, e.g. due to
> biological reasons and I respect the choice of people who chose not to
> have
> children due to financial or other so-called "selfish" reasons. After all
> we live in free society, or do we? But maybe the "selfish" reasons are
> only
> selfish, because society as a whole does not value children (i.e. in a
> sense the future) enough, so as to enable one to be "selfish" and have
> children, especially for woman!
>
> Dr Karl Mueller
> __________________________________________________________________
>
> Research Fellow (EU-STF)
> The University of Tokyo
> Dept. of Precision Machinery Eng.
> Kimura, Mohri & Suzuki Laboratory
> Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku
> Tokyo 113-8656, JAPAN
>
> Tel.: +81-3-5841-6495
> Fax: +81-3-5841-8556
> Mail: [log in to unmask]
> __________________________________________________________________
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