May 13, 2008
As we face a rerun of the 70's with the old liberal policies of Dem presidential candidate Barack Obama (who thinks babies are a punishment and votes accordingly), recall that gloomy time. Picture on your TV a whiny Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater in a freezing house, telling us America's best days are behind us, his misery index--the sum of inflation and unemployment at one time topped 20% (It's now about 8%--normal, not Depression era.), his capitulation to terrorists and Russian thugs. Then there were the population bomb Cassandras who admonished the flower child generation not to have any of their own, for fear of overwhelming Mother Earth.
They were wrong then and still are. Private property avoids the tragedy of the commons, there is plenty of room on the planet, and as (capitalist/democratic) societies advance they become more productive and use resources more wisely. We had the Green Revolution, then the Tech Revolution. Ronald Reagan brought us morning in America, lifted the crushing burden of taxes and regulation, and began an era of growth, prosperity and hope, which has lasted into this century. Boomers had babies, at least more conservative ones did. We defeated the Evil Empire of the USSR with the strength of our American way of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And a resilient old Earth is still revolving around the Sun.
Terrorists thought they would topple America on Sept. 11th, as they brought the Twin Towers down and struck at the heart of our Capitol city, but America fought back. Our planes started flying again, American and United, and we welcomed them back to O'Hare, named after a local hero of WWII. Americans went back to work, and the 9/11 generation stepped up to protect us. Never say we shouldn't have had them-- to protect the Earth. This Earth is one of plenty, and we need to use the latest Earth-friendly technology we have to provide power and food for ourselves and those less fortunate.
Some Mother's Day reflections from the good professor Arthur C. Brooks, who has documented that conservatives are more generous and happier than liberals, now argues children are a net benefit--hug the children, not the trees:
Some have concluded that the decision to forgo children--increasingly common in Europe and some parts of American society--is not a benevolent decision for humanity at all, but rather a reflection of endemic modern selfishness. In addressing the problem of negative population growth in Germany, none other than the head of that country's left-wing Social Democratic Party said in an interview that, "Living for the moment does not help a society develop itself. . . . A society without children is a society without a future."
One of my kids spent a recent summer in a Baltic country. The parents were civil servants with two children--the elder was in his early 30's, the younger in her mid-teens. I wondered why the gap, and I never asked, but I have to think it had something to do with the advent of freedom there back in the early 90's.
Give some credit now to those who fought here to value life when liberals demeaned it these last two generations. Other parts of the world are not so lucky. And give thanks there are signs that respect for premarital abstinence and chastity is back, even in liberal Cambridge and in Chicago, creating a sound foundation for a family, the bedrock of a healthy society.
Just say no to the cramped and selfish liberal world view, and give a kid a hug when you get the chance.
Comments
Suzy (anonymous) says...
C'mon, Anne. I'm sure Obama loves his children as much as the rest of us love our own. People who love their children can hold different political opinions.
Let's not pretend that the life of every woman and every family is improved by the addition of a child (or another child). I agree that people should not participate in actions if they are not in a position to handle (and in this case, love) the consequences, but we have to be realistic about human behavior and the way it affects us all.
May 13, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
aleary (aleary) says...
Of course people should be responsible. But neither should they devalue children to the point of justifying abortions of convenience, or that think that they are necessarily saving society by not having children of their own. Barack Obama has said some pretty cold-blooded things, I just quoted him, and his voting record
Europe has a demographic bust because the post-War generation indulged themselves in the here and now. And who will pay for their social security? Or ours for that matter.
May 13, 2008 at 1:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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