The future of the world
Children are nothing less than that. However, they’re the subject of a lot of musing and equivocation in a mainstream media that has tried to justify, for years, the methods and motives for not having babies. And for controlling that decision. And the reasons are getting more creative.
Did you see this Newsweek cover story? It’s called “Beyond Babies” and the sub-head declares:
Even in once conservative societies, more and more couples are choosing not to have kids. That means good things for restaurants and real estate. But a backlash has already begun.
It talks about this “trend” that is resulting in a culture of childlessness. I have news for Newsweek. This is not a new “trend.” It started after Griswold v. Connecticut made contraception legal (sort of). And the resulting de-population of whole societies was the predictably natural result. Whole countries are not replacing themselves, with dire consequences in the not distant future.
Maggie Gallagher points that out in her column “Beyond Babies?”
What lies beyond babies? Death. Death of the individual, and of his or her family. Death of the nation, tribe or culture that adopts a set of beliefs, practices and institutional arrangements that fail to respect and support generativity.
At least America seems to be seeing higher birth rates.
America is a special case. Between 1980 and 2000, while Europe, South Korea and Japan’s birth rates plunged, the U.S.’s fertility climbed from 1.85 back up to 2.06. Immigrants, who bring their “less developed” family values to our shores, are a part of the explanation. But American college-educated white women (to name one of the least fertile groups) have birthrates that would be the envy of Europe.
That didn’t make it into the Newsweek article. Instead, it painted a merry global picture in which this contraceptive and abortive culture has bred something else. Newsweek calls it a “new normalcy of childlessness.”
It’s not normal, no matter what you call it. That seems to be the ultimate point of an upcoming movie I’ve caught a glimpse of in previews, called “Children of Men.” It’s a bleak portrayal of the “culture of childlessness” taken through to its logical conclusion.
Here’s what the promo says:
“Based on a P.D. James science-fiction novel, Children of Men is set in a futuristic dsytopia where humankind is on the brink of extinction and a sole pregnant woman holds the key to survival.”
Imagine that.
