I got engaged on Saturday. My fiancé and I plan to get married next summer. We live in a nice co-op in Brooklyn, both have good jobs, and life is good.
Well, our lives are good anyway, at least as long as we pretend that the rest of the world isn't going to hell in a handbasket. My fiancé definitely wants to have children, and I think that I do too, but every time I think about this issue I start to think about the way things are going in the US and in the world and the likelihood (or lack thereof) that our kids (if any) might have actually grow up and live ok lives. So I'd like to solicit your advice: should we have kids?
More (plus poll) on the flip ...
Some people might believe that I'm overly pessimistic and should not be worrying about whether some yuppies' kids will have decent lives. So I decided to put together a short list of things that I'm concerned about. Unfortunately, "short" is not really an option. I mean, just take a look at today's recommended diaries and other political news items:
- The Bush administration is fighting an information war against dissent.
- The Constitution is dying and Totalitarianism is a real possibility.
- Iraq is descending into civil war, our troops are in harm's way, and we've got no plan to get out.
- Our government tortures people.
Sure, that's enough to make you really depressed. But, at least, maybe I can hope that the evil people that have taken over our government will get thrown out of office and things will get better? Yeah? No. The moment I start to think this, my mind shifts to think about the energy situation and the environment. (Pardon me for not providing links on the following, but you know this stuff as much as I do. If not, then read
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed or jump on to Google.)
- The era of cheap energy is nearly over. As the price of oil goes up, we'll inevitably shift more heavily into coal, and global warming will continue getting worse.
- We're clearcutting forests around the world.
- We're destroying the habitats of countless species.
Bottom line, sustainability no longer seems to be a realistic possibility. I'm worried that our kids will come into a world where they will need to be fighting for a smaller slice of a smaller pie. A world where a few rich people will use their economic and military resources to sustain extravagant lifestyles, while the majority of people see slowly (or quickly) declining lifestyles.
I just got engaged. This is a happy time for me notwithstanding the doom I see around me. But I still can't escape reality, and nor am I trying to do so. We'd like to have kids, but also need to consider rationally whether it's a good idea or not. How do y'all come down on this?