Longing for the day ...

Being a father

Last night I watched a small part of a 60 Minutes item about an Irish family who defied medical opinion to use an untried treatment for "the human form of mad cow disease". In it, the father was asked about whether he was doing enough to help his son. He replied that it was easy to be a father, "being a daddy is much harder".

What a line. I almost cried at the thought. If only this view was publicly articulated more widely, there might be less unhappy children in the world. Less children would be a good start.

I don't go along with the line that we need to increase our population just for the sake of economic growth. There are already more than enough human souls on this planet - what we need to work on is improving the quality of life of the ones who are here. There's plenty of possibilities for economic growth in pursuing that mission.

A good start would be for men (in particular) to take more responsibility for their procreations. There is this irrational assumption that it's better to preserve all lives at any cost - regardless of the effect that has on the people around them. This is highlighted in total opposition to abortion and euthanasia, and an insistance that the right to reproduce is a fundamental right.

I'd like to suggest the the right to reproduce is a priviledge, and one that we do, can, and should take away from people if they don't live up to their obligations to nuture that life long after it ceased being small and cute. That requires long-term committment and personal sacrifice.

Being a daddy is about more than breeding - it's about creating happy, sustainable and worthwhile people.