Joe Gathman wrote, "...I've always thought that having children is just = about the most selfish thing anybody could do..." [yeah, so no thanks, = Mom!]
I have seen the above sentiment expressed several times in this = discussion. I simply cannot understand how anyone could think that = childbearing and childrearing are selfish at any level. To be selfish is to be 1) concerned excessively or exclusively with = oneself : seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or = well-being without regard for others; and 2: arising from concern with = one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others*. The mother of a = child sacrifices her personal comfort, risks her life, changes her = social involvement, yields her will to her child, incurs additional and = substantial healthcare costs, and this all before she gives birth! You = may say it is selfish at a society level (how dare we have children to = compete for resources with other's?), but perpetuation of society = requires perpetuation of the species. You may say it is selfish at the = biosphere level; we should cease reproducing altogether, for the good of = all other lifeforms? No, self-preservation is not selfishness. =20 Much more selfish than a mother is a woman who engages in sexual = activity for her pleasure alone (don't misread this please), desires her = comfort above anything else, maintains her social involvement for the = sake of her ego, leeches personal benefit from the societal structure = consequent from others having children, travels off to fur-flung exotica = because she has no children to cramp her style, etc. Not that we = shouldn't respect those who make those choices...the choices are just = more selfish. As long as we are pointing fingers preposterously, consider the elderly. = They have expendable income and have time to travel (expending fossil = fuel!). They are living longer than ever before (taking up precious = food and shelter resources). They are the primary beneficiaries of = Social Security. Yes, they contributed, but how selfish of them to not = donate it to the greater cause! They require more health intervention = and medication and increase the costs for the rest of us, and increase = the synthetic chemical load in our groundwater. And what benefit do = they give to the population? They are not necessary for any biological = population, other than fodder for the predators, allowing the young to = reach reproductive age. Geronticide is more sustainable than = spermicide. Like I said, preposterous! *Merriam-Webster
