Waldmüller: Junge Bäuerin mit 3 Kindern im Fenster
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: Junge Bäuerin mit drei Kindern im Fenster (1840)
Neue Pinakothek (München)
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Right to reproduce


 From my very earliest days I remember learning to respect the planet I live on, in different ways and from different sources. I also learnt of the influence of White Man on the planet, and have done my best to live in full respect of the greater good of the minerals, plants and animals (including humans) on this Earth.

 Upon reflection on and research* of the topic, I have come to the conclusion that no matter how "green" I live, it is not I but large companies and nations that are creating pollution and extinction in the name of their own profiteering and "progress". I have also learnt that much of the propaganda for the environmental movement is meant to make me feel guilty, so that I opt to live a low-tech life or to go "back to the dark ages".

 With all due respect to this argumentation, I am left with two very big dilemmas:

 I know of technologies and inventions that are much kinder to the environment and to its occupants -- but this technology is not available to me. Its inventors and practitioners have been murdered or driven off their land. Getting close to any land at all is increasingly becoming a luxury. Even if I decrease my use of the resources available to me (and I am quite near the minimum), the resources I use are still a part of the problem. Knowing that in a great part of the Western world the conditions are the same, the relatively tiny pollution I create is multiplied by a couple of billions. In other words, the large corporations that control the resources I can access (including food, long-distance transportation, education and leisure) also control the pollution I create. 

 For example, I would be much happier with a non-irradiated, non-cultivated, non-engineered, wild growing apple -- but even the organic biological options I may purchase are increasingly produced by a system that does use these methods. I would also be much happier travelling on horseback or by carriage to the next town, but the only option available to me is public transportation, which is also a part of the problem.

 My second dilemma has to do with my right to reproduce. Biologically, it is my job to reproduce. It is even necessary for my emotional and physical health. But the following facts are large factors in the decision so far not to have reproduced:

 » I am the product of a couple of generations of unhealthy habits, such as eating white flour and refined sugars, receiving immunizations and radiation (through x-rays and air-travel) and being in contact with chemicals (which I do not use in my home). The genetic health of humans has probably decreased in the latest generations. How can I justify forcing a soul into a body, knowing that it will not receive the best body possible?

 » The same factors are going to affect how well a child's body may develop on this planet. Even if I protect it from processed foods and immunizations, I will not be able to protect it from the degeneration of our food sources, from pollution created by external factors, or from increasing bureaucratical intervention in its life and lifestyle.

 » By any estimate, there are too many people on the planet already. This results in somewhat uncomfortable conditions for many people, but also in a further reduction in habitats available to other species. Although no one already alive ought to have to die in order to make room, I cannot justify bringing one more human on board.

 » Although a child may be instrumental in protecting my rights as I grow old, I will then leave it with the same dilemma I have now: Who will take care of it, when it grows old?

 Although I agree with many libertarian views, I cannot agree that we ought to carry on using technology and reproducing like nothing happened.

 (a) Until we again have direct access to the Earth, as well as access to advanced technologies that are not destructive, we cannot ignore our own contribution to making our planet uninhabitable.

 (b) Although my (potential) child has as much right to be here as any other, I shall keep it from having to compete for space with declining species, other humans, and especially with private interests that are taking up much too much of the land and the freedoms that ought to be free to all... in service to my belief in the prevention of exponential population explosion of humans.
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 H 10/08

 * Sources of information that has been used to compose this essay are available upon request.

 ** Adoption would be another way to achieve the goal of having a family. Because of my situation in life, I doubt that I would be a candidate to be allowed to adopt. BUT, I would recommend to any reader of this essay to look into adoption. I refer to the adoption of children and young adults, who are already alive on this planet and in need of help, as I also do not believe in the creation of unwanted children in order to provide fruitless couples with a newborn.