As Society Devalues Children, Families Build a Culture of Life
In a society that does not value kids, believing they are an inconvenience or bad for the planet, what we need is a culture of life.
Panelists on “The View” earlier this month agreed that parents should only have one kid (even though only 3% of Americans agree with them). Hosts Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin both said one child is ideal. Host Sara Haines said she originally wanted four kids; she has three.
“What is the perfect number of kids to have?” the Twitter account for “The View” wrote.
“Answer? As many as God blesses you with,” Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy responded. She has nine kids with her husband Sean Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman.
Others have tried to use fears about climate change to explain why they do not want more kids brought into this world. This is the recycled playbook of Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich and his debunked “Population Bomb” hysteria.
“I feel as if I would be doing an increasingly irreparable injustice to any children I would bring into this world with my inability to offer them a future,” a CNN opinion contributor wrote recently, explaining her decision never to have kids.
Some studies have found “greater climate concern” has been linked to “less positive attitudes about having children and intentions to have fewer children or none at all,” the climate-focused outlet Anthropocene reported.
Against the backdrop of these stories, it is good to see some celebrities being open to life and having kids.
For example, Super Bowl-winning kicker Harrison Butker has previously used his platform to promote marriage and family.
The Kansas City Chiefs player told Georgia Tech grads to “get married and start a family” if they want true happiness. His professional achievements pale in comparison to “the happiness I have found in my marriage and starting a family,” Butker said.
“Focus on meaningful relationships,” he said. “And know that with or without the spotlight, your life has value and you are meant for more.”
I am sure Butker would agree that kids can cause many literal and figurative headaches. Kids wake up in the middle of the night, they get sick, and they certainly do cost money.
At the same time, living for someone else and being responsible for the education of another person is an awesome responsibility and one that should not be quickly disregarded or laughed off by liberal comedians.
A culture of life is important. Pro-lifers should continue to promote the benefits of marriage and kids—the joy of seeing them walk for the first time, the laughter of toddlers, and the seemingly incoherent ramblings of young kids all make having them worth it — and the more, the merrier.