Brother John wrote:
Why would any adult not want to have children?
There are probably a thousand or more valid reasons the most basic of which is that we are all individuals with varying needs, desires and capabilities
Are they not a source of almost infinite joy in the lives of those who have them?
In a perfect world perhaps. Not always in this one.
Are they not great treasures?
To me they are, to others they are an unwanted burden. Still others are indifferent. How many women in the past were having babies not because they wanted them but because it was their duty?
To pass up a chance for a child is like walking by a 100 dollar bill on the sidewalk and not leaning down to pick it up. Only the barren and lonely do not have children. It is a sad situation for any person to be in. Of course this is just my personal feeling, but there was a time when it was shared by a great many others in our nation.
Do you have any evidence that a smaller percentage of people feel that way today?
That was back when we were reproducing rapidly enough to BE the illegal alien problem instead of HAVING an illegal alien problem. --JWR
Rapid reproduction isn't necessarily a measure of the desire to have children. In the past, sex was no less desirable than it is today but birth control was problematic.
If you were to ask everyone who ever had sex why they did so, how many do you think would answer "Because we wanted to reproduce?" My guess is that the percentage that answered that way would be in the low single digits while variations of the answer "Because it gives us great pleasure" would be the overwhelming favorite.
-- Doug _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
