One of the frequent invalidations that we childfree people are subject to by those who cannot wrap their mind about the idea of choosing not to have children is:
"If everyone thought the way you do, the human race would die out."
Got me there.
But, then, I have never advocated for a world where everyone thinks the way I do. I am advocating for a world where the choice to forego having children is given the same respect and acceptance as the choice to have them. A very simple concept, really.
I think most sensible people would agree that it would be a good thing if fewer people had children than are having them now. There are plenty of people having children who have no business having them, are terrible parents (ever notice that the worst parents are the ones having the largest numbers of them?), or cannot provide a proper life for them. Isn't the insistence that everyone have children a bit dumb-headed?
To those who scoff at childfreedom and insist that everyone should have kids, I offer this reply:
"If everyone thought the way you do, the earth would be destroyed."
Oh wait. This is already happening. Because of the insistence that every single person go forth and multiply, in the 200,000 short years mankind has populated (and at this point overpopulated) the earth, he has virtually stripped it of its natural resources, decimated its forests, extinguished much of its wildlife, polluted its oceans, land and air, and warmed its environment to a temperature that in a few years will be fit only for tropical house ferns. And let's not forget the horrors he has visited on his fellow man. Holocaust, anyone?
Yes, that's right, folks. The threats we face are not from too little breeding, or the expanding childfree population. They are from too much breeding and too many people fighting over dwindling resources. If anything, we childfree folks should be thanked for counteracting the environmental damage done by our childed peers - those with the massive and exploding carbon footprints. See that "Donate" Paypal button on the right of this screen? You can start there.
So to those who think that their "if everyone thought the way you do..." bingo is a great "gotcha!", I am sorry to disappoint you. It just doesn't impress me all that much. But it is an argument that is entertaining enough to inspire a blog post, so for that I am glad :)
