Happy Non-Parents day (Page 2)

Every time the subject of having kids comes up I can't help but think of Nicholas Cage's line in The Rock where he lists all the ridiculous things going on in the world and then says it would be an act of cruelty to bring a child into this messed up world.

Yes I know terribly cynical. But I do feel a bit bad for young kids these days. Heck I am only 27 and I feel bad for 21-22 year olds getting out of college, there aren't many places for them to go.

I don't see much improvement at home or abroad on many social or economic issues. I feel there is going to be a melt down in this country at some point and while I can hope that it will be after my time, I don't think it will be after my kid's time.

I will most likely get over this when the time comes to consider having a family, and I can imagine there are some awesome benefits to having a kid, and I would like to try my hand at parenting, but I don't see an easy road ahead for any of us and especially our kids.

OK, I am going to risk a tangential threadjack here, and probably come off as somewhat offensive. I'm taking a shot anyway. 

This attitude might have merit, if it wasn't coming from a 21st century American who can afford the sport of triathlon. And I say that not at you as the poster in particular, because it's a sentiment I have heard many times. 

Here's why I roll my eyes at it: there is a narcissism today, that wants to think that we have it so terrible. History is forgotten so readily when we don't have people around who lived through it. 

9/11 was not the worst thing to happen to the United States. The Civil War was FAR worse. Somehow the people living in that time felt compelled to continue the species. (And let's not get hung up on whether or not birth control was viable. Not the point.) 

Every age has seen the doomsday naysayers. At the year 1000, much of Europe was convinced the end was coming. We're still here. At the turn of the 20th century, the pulpits were banging with how it was the worst time in history, morally, culturally, socially, economically. Just like at the end of the 20th. Narcissism wasn't invented by the digital or social media age either. Everyone has said it's the worst ever.

I'm not saying there are no problems to be dealt with - not at all. But let's get some perspective on the history of the world, and what people have lived through. Just the fact that I live in the United States today, means I am already enjoying a quality of life far beyond what most people who've ever lived on the earth could dare to dream of, let alone EXPECT as their due for just breathing. I can't imagine how French or English or German people wanted to bear children in the midst of WWI. 

I offer the oft referenced words of my current favorite cultural critic. Everything's Amazing, and No One's Happy. 

Exactlythe link I posted right above. 

Exactlythe link I posted right above. 

Right on the money!  My children live in amazing times......pretty cool if you ask me.