| Current mood: | *sigh* |
| Current music: | "Shampoo Suicide" -Broken Social Scene |
If I could tell the world just one thing, it would be...
I'm someone who definitely intends not to make new people.
First, I don't think bringing someone new into the world, human or not, is somehow doing that someone a service. However, it definitely seems to me that raising someones who are already here could significantly brighten a lot of lives. In other words, no argument for procreation over adoption has ever made sense to me.
*thinking* Two scenarios (I think I'm about to go silly...but in a sort of serious way):
Scenario One (I adopt a child):
There's a kid who needs parents. Awesome. Here I am. S/he becomes part of my awesome vegan family, has a relatively happy childhood, cares about things, does good works, etc.
My hope would be that s/he would go on to adopt children of her/his own, but I'll make a baseless assumption that s/he will decide to procreate instead, contributing to generation after generation of new people, all of whom are at least a slight drain on the planet... even if some of them do end up having some positive impact as well. Hurray for adoption!
Scenario Two (I and another make a new person):
Jean-Pierre (not Raffarin--I just think that a sexy name) and I create a child. S/he becomes part of my awesome vegan family, has a relatively happy childhood, cares about things, does good works, etc. I'll make another baseless assumption that s/he would also choose procreation over adoption, contributing to generation after generation of new people, all of whom are at least a slight drain on the planet (we'll say equal to those descendents in scenario one)... even if some of them end up having a positive impact as well.
(still Scenario Two) Here's where the scenarios differ
Meanwhile, the child I adopted in Scenario One is still born. Now, it's possible that s/he could still end up with a loving home, but that only means that the less happy unadopted life was displaced to someone else (as that loving home took in yet another adoptable child under scenario one, etc.). ...but to make this easier on everyone, I'll say the unadopted life wasn't displaced and the child I could have adopted is tossed about through her/his childhood, is sent out on her/his own at 18, and likely ends up in a life of poverty.
Now, I won't get into the sociology of it all, but more often than not, poverty and lack of parenting leads to lots of crappiness and sadness. Instead, I'll just say, adoption isn't even an option for this impoverished adult. S/he procreates and because that seems to be the trend among the poor, s/he likely ends up with more children than s/he would have otherwise (we'll say four kids instead of two, all of whom grow up in poverty and go on to procreate themselves).
This means that eventually (after a few generations--I'm a genealogy nerd), there are "a bunch" more people than there would have been had I not procreated. ...and if you need something more immediate, my would-be child and grandchildren are all off living relatively crappy lives somewhere.
I think what all of that meant was... I think it's damned important for us to realize that adoption isn't reserved for the sterile...and there are far from enough naturally sterile people to take in all of the parentless children in the world.
Adoptive children are NOT just what people end up with when they can't get the real deal. They are people, and because having natural children has been promoted as somehow "special", they're often passed by. ...and that makes me sad.
I really am not trying to criticize those of you who have chosen/will choose to procreate. I don't think even a bit less of you. It's just a decision that seems a bit selfish to me (please don't hate me for saying so--I'm sorry!), and it's a decision I can only understand with difficulty.
_______________________________
Though I've lost affection for both song and artist, I think I was trying to quote Jewel with that subject line.
"If I could tell the world just one thing, it would be, we're all okay". That line really spoke to me when I was fifteen. You see, I have a way of taking words out of context and letting them have whatever meaning I want them to have. :)
As a teenager, I interpreted that one as, "If I could tell the world just one thing it would be, we're all cool people (so chill the hell out)".
The problem with that interpretation is... in context, it doesn't make much sense. :D :D :D
My current interpretation of the line is, "If I could tell the world just one thing it would be, we're all going to be okay". Jewel was basically saying, "everything's fine (so chill the hell out)".
I still like that the song seems to be about combatting miserable apathy. ...but damn it, Jewel, I don't think we're all going to be okay.
note: I would actually encourage folks to adopt older children, but "Adopt Babies" sounded funnier in my head. :) ...but parenting doesn't really sound like fun to me. I think I'll forgo full-time child-rearing altogether and save the world instead. :)
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