When I meet people my age these days—sixty years or older—the subject of grandchildren sometimes comes up. Many of these people tell me they have one, two, or three children, and two to three grandchildren.
Then they ask me about my grandchildren. Each time I have to brace myself for the ensuing shock.
I have four children, all of whom are married, and thirteen grandchildren, with two more on the way. More if you count those souls lost to miscarriages and near stillbirths, which I do. Five of these little ones are adopted.
Then they ask me about my grandchildren. Each time I have to brace myself for the ensuing shock.
I have four children, all of whom are married, and thirteen grandchildren, with two more on the way. More if you count those souls lost to miscarriages and near stillbirths, which I do. Five of these little ones are adopted.
I am reasonably certain there will be more grandchildren. I am proud of each of them: my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. I love all of them and treasure the gifts they are bringing or will bring to the world.
I love visiting the homes of my older grandchildren and being greeted like a celebrity. One definition of joy for me is arriving at a house and having four or five children rush the car screaming “Grandpa!” It’s gratifying to know that no matter what, somewhere in this cold world a platoon of little people love me.
Of course, some folks greet the news of this platoon of grandchildren with dismay. They may ask—and some have asked—what about overpopulation?
Whether you know it or not, we live in a country with a falling birthrate. If we excluded immigration, we would be a population in decline, like most other industrialized countries. The population replacement level is 2.1 babies per woman. In America, our replacement level is about 1.9. In other countries, it is much lower. Japan’s birthrate is 1.41, and the result is an aging population and a stagnant economy. Germany this year surpassed even Japan, a circumstance which makes letting a million “refugees” into the country a dicey proposition. Last winter, Italian Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin called Italy a “dying country.”
These declining birthrates are not unique to the West and Japan. Both Russia and China are facing enormous drops in population. In developing countries, the same trend has also caught fire, as reported by Jeff Wise in Slate Magazine (http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/01/world_population_may_actually_start_declining_not_exploding.html):
“Moreover, the poor, highly fertile countries that once churned out immigrants by the boatload are now experiencing birthrate declines of their own. From 1960 to 2009, Mexico’s fertility rate tumbled from 7.3 live births per woman to 2.4, India’s dropped from six to 2.5, and Brazil’s fell from 6.15 to 1.9. Even in sub-Saharan Africa, where the average birthrate remains a relatively blistering 4.66, fertility is projected to fall below replacement level by the 2070s. This change in developing countries will affect not only the U.S. population, of course, but eventually the world’s.”
Declining birthrates will certainly please environmentalists, at least the ones who have reached middle age. Young people, however, and the young people of the future, will be less happy. For a good while, fewer and fewer young people will be forced to pay higher and higher taxes to support the ballooning elderly population.
In my younger days, social commentators always said that human beings were our most precious resource. When I look at my children and grandchildren, I would agree, yet apparently that idea has gone by the boards. Today, some would say, there are too many people on earth.
Every time I hear someone utter this statement, I wonder: Who should we get rid of? Where are the volunteers willing to go West?
Twenty-five years ago, when I converted to Catholicism, I called my father to tell him I had entered the Church. His first comment was: “Well, I have always disagreed with the Catholic Church’s position on birth control.”
Usually such a comment would have left me tongue-tied. But on this occasion such was not the case. “Dad,” I said, “you had six kids. Which of us would you want to be rid of?”
Look, I am not the world’s greatest grandfather. I rarely babysit my grandchildren. I don’t do the best job of keeping in touch with them. There are literally dozens of ways of I could be a better grandfather.
But each one of my grandchildren who has reached the age of awareness surely knows that I treasure them. And knowing them as I do, and knowing their parents, I am certain they will grow into fine human beings who will contribute to the world in which they live.
These are young people who will make their way in the world. They’ll be the ones who shape the future. They will be contributing to the betterment of society. And for those of you on social security, they’ll the ones paying for your retirement.
Next time you see some mom or dad at a check-out line in the grocery store struggling with children, next time you see one of them juggling packages and kids in line at the post office, next time you see them dealing with some child’s meltdown in a pharmacy, instead of making some snarky remark like “Well, you have your hands full” or “Are those all yours?”, why not offer some help?
Those kids you’re looking at: You’re looking at the future.
Their future.
And yours.
I love visiting the homes of my older grandchildren and being greeted like a celebrity. One definition of joy for me is arriving at a house and having four or five children rush the car screaming “Grandpa!” It’s gratifying to know that no matter what, somewhere in this cold world a platoon of little people love me.
Of course, some folks greet the news of this platoon of grandchildren with dismay. They may ask—and some have asked—what about overpopulation?
Whether you know it or not, we live in a country with a falling birthrate. If we excluded immigration, we would be a population in decline, like most other industrialized countries. The population replacement level is 2.1 babies per woman. In America, our replacement level is about 1.9. In other countries, it is much lower. Japan’s birthrate is 1.41, and the result is an aging population and a stagnant economy. Germany this year surpassed even Japan, a circumstance which makes letting a million “refugees” into the country a dicey proposition. Last winter, Italian Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin called Italy a “dying country.”
These declining birthrates are not unique to the West and Japan. Both Russia and China are facing enormous drops in population. In developing countries, the same trend has also caught fire, as reported by Jeff Wise in Slate Magazine (http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/01/world_population_may_actually_start_declining_not_exploding.html):
“Moreover, the poor, highly fertile countries that once churned out immigrants by the boatload are now experiencing birthrate declines of their own. From 1960 to 2009, Mexico’s fertility rate tumbled from 7.3 live births per woman to 2.4, India’s dropped from six to 2.5, and Brazil’s fell from 6.15 to 1.9. Even in sub-Saharan Africa, where the average birthrate remains a relatively blistering 4.66, fertility is projected to fall below replacement level by the 2070s. This change in developing countries will affect not only the U.S. population, of course, but eventually the world’s.”
Declining birthrates will certainly please environmentalists, at least the ones who have reached middle age. Young people, however, and the young people of the future, will be less happy. For a good while, fewer and fewer young people will be forced to pay higher and higher taxes to support the ballooning elderly population.
In my younger days, social commentators always said that human beings were our most precious resource. When I look at my children and grandchildren, I would agree, yet apparently that idea has gone by the boards. Today, some would say, there are too many people on earth.
Every time I hear someone utter this statement, I wonder: Who should we get rid of? Where are the volunteers willing to go West?
Twenty-five years ago, when I converted to Catholicism, I called my father to tell him I had entered the Church. His first comment was: “Well, I have always disagreed with the Catholic Church’s position on birth control.”
Usually such a comment would have left me tongue-tied. But on this occasion such was not the case. “Dad,” I said, “you had six kids. Which of us would you want to be rid of?”
Look, I am not the world’s greatest grandfather. I rarely babysit my grandchildren. I don’t do the best job of keeping in touch with them. There are literally dozens of ways of I could be a better grandfather.
But each one of my grandchildren who has reached the age of awareness surely knows that I treasure them. And knowing them as I do, and knowing their parents, I am certain they will grow into fine human beings who will contribute to the world in which they live.
These are young people who will make their way in the world. They’ll be the ones who shape the future. They will be contributing to the betterment of society. And for those of you on social security, they’ll the ones paying for your retirement.
Next time you see some mom or dad at a check-out line in the grocery store struggling with children, next time you see one of them juggling packages and kids in line at the post office, next time you see them dealing with some child’s meltdown in a pharmacy, instead of making some snarky remark like “Well, you have your hands full” or “Are those all yours?”, why not offer some help?
Those kids you’re looking at: You’re looking at the future.
Their future.
And yours.
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