Here is an article in the Guardian in which a mum/an environmentalist voiced her concern about having children in this not so optimistic world. She obviously overcame her fear because her daughter is two years old now.I certainly share her concern: "I worried about the terrible things the world would do to them. I also worried about what they would do to the world."
I am sure our generation does not own the copyright of this type of concern. Still, generations after generations babies were born in war time, in famine time, and in anytime in between.
(yes yes I am aware of the fact that birth control technique wasn't as advanced all this time).
But you do hear the word "baby boomer" flying around. I suppose that means when things were rosy parents got less worried and brought more new lives into the world.
I am not sure this is one of those time now. Normally I am an optimistic person (actually for quite some time I thought I suffered from euphoria) but the possible detrimental impacts of global warming is not something I can feel optimistic about. Yes I know humans are highly adaptive, but there happens to be something in ecology called "non-linear changes". In other words, things beyond our imagination can happen, aka, catastrophes as somebody like Lovelock would say.
Then there comes the word "faith". Sometimes I wonder how much one being religious/spiritual has something to do with the fear of "I don't know I don't know" but I need a rope to hang on. MM and I talked about astronomy yesterday (mainly he gave me a lesson) and I ended up with a question of "Why we think our late friend/family member will become a star in the sky?" Because we feel lost and we are worried that they have left us forever so we need something to comfort us, even they are light years away?
Of course there is also hope, which seems like the twin brother of fear. We hope we didn't lost each other and they could still see us and hear us and be part of our lives. Similarly we hope our children will enjoy a better life, no matter how a lot of the evidence are pointing the other way?
Sounds like a self-denial frankly. But don't you have to be in self-denial sometimes so that life can go on? We tell ourselves we can recover from a heart-broken relationship, and we tell ourselves cancer is not lethal sometimes... Perhaps in another planet, they call all that being optimistic?
But in this heating planet, you have to be optimistic to be a parent. I am still not sure I am optimistic enough for that. But I do know I am going to say "It is going to be OK" if I hold my child's hand someday.
1 comment:
I suppose with five children that means I'm optimistic. However, I don't think that your analysis is complete. I think that having children has several levels.
Firstly I think that yes it is a kind of optimism that makes you want to create a new life. It is the feeling that that new person with the correct nurturing will make a difference and that the world will be better for his presence. What I can be more certain of is that his immediate environs will be a better place.
It is also maybe an inflated sense of self that I feel that I have something to contribute to the world that I don't want to die when I do. I want to continue contributing after my death.
But more than that it is also a way to counter despair and futility of our non-significant short stay in this world. Why do I live? Most people do not do something world changing in their lifetime. Time is so short and there is so much to do. What I can do is continue to carry the torch and contribute to human eternity.
I think that not having children to continue and to be able to see the continuing success of further generations is something that I would regret. I think that this is something universally human.
Personally I don't think that global warming is the worst thing that might happen to my children. I can think of a lot of worse things that could happen to them.
But that's life.
I think that sums it up.
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