[I
posted this some time back on OEN, but I've touched it up a bit, partially with
comments from that piece and directed it to Planned Parenthood as well anyone
contemplating bringing another human into the world today. Please note that I do avidly support Planned Parenthood, but urge them to press their clients on this most fundamental question, make them aware of the world we now live in, and speak loudly and clearly on the possibility of adoption.]
The
Voluntary Movement for the Extinction of Humans, spelled VHEMT but pronounced
"Vehement," lists many reasons why humans ought to not have children
and, sooner rather than later, purposefully and mindfully go extinct:
- The alternative to the extinction of millions of species of plants and
animals will come from the voluntary extinction of one species: Homo sapiens.
- Each time another one of us decides to not add another human to the
burgeoning billions now squatting on this ravaged planet, another ray of hope
shines through the gloom.
- Returning Earth to its natural splendor and ending needless suffering of humanity are happy thoughts -- no sense moping around in gloom and doom.
- The decision to stop reproducing is morally correct, since we are presently engineering the massive die-off of humanity, and should thus not sentence another human to life.
- Allowing humanity to take its present course of destroying the planet is unconscionable. There is far too much at stake.
- Not all Vehement (as I'll henceforth spell it, for phonetic harmony) members are necessarily in favor of human extinction, but agree that no more of us should be created at this time. Vehement opposes the involuntary extinction of any species, including humans.
-
Unfortunately, many concerted efforts support the horror of involuntary
extinction: production and use of weapons; toxins everywhere; rampant
destruction of natural resources and ecosystems; global warming; water and
fossil fuel depletion; ozone breakdown; countless wars; the rise of fascism; fracking;
and so on.
- A major goal of Vehement is to advance the population-awareness movement,
which appears to be stalled, if not pushed back to where it was 40 years ago.
Progressive population awareness groups advocate a one-child average and two
maximum, but few, if any, dare to advocate zero procreation. Environmental
groups often avoid the controversial topic, preferring to work on consequences
of our excessive breeding.
- Vehement members want to preserve the future of life on earth. Humans have
the potential for achieving the awareness needed to reverse civilization's
direction and begin restoring Earth's biosphere.
Vehement's website gives more detailed explanations of why they believe that
voluntary human extinction merits our consideration.
My first reaction upon contemplating the foregoing notions was: "Whoa!
These folks are out to lunch! There are millions of people like myself who have
been working hard to make sure the human race continues. I've spent a quarter
century in education-pushing science and environmental education in
particular-I've worked on several solar projects, built windmills, lived off
the grid for fifteen years, talked at environmental and energy hearings ad
infinitum, written countless letters to the editor regarding protecting life on
earth, tried to vote and encourage others to vote properly, ran for U.S. Senate
against Orrin Hatch [six children, 23 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren, last I read, and doing his best to leave a wasteland behind], and, among other things, made efforts to reduce my
consumption of resources. My underlying assumption has always been that we
humans SHOULD continue spreading and sprouting our seeds, and pass this
beautiful blue-green planet on to future generations, hopefully educated and
numerically limited ones. Why else am I and others putting so much energy into
doing the things we do, other than to propagate our species?"
But Vehement's ideas rapidly sprouted roots in my brain and refused to let
go. I considered: I have one biological son-the other I adopted-and I
might well not have procreated that one time, if not for the fact that my wife
had ovarian cancer. The doctor had informed us: "We need to operate, and
if you plan to have a child, now is the time to do it."
That proclamation forced my hand, but there is a more than likely chance that
had this not happened, I would have had no progeny of my own. After all, I
worked with kids all day in elementary education, and didn't particularly think
I needed to have another one waiting at home for me after a day of teaching. Even
in 1975, the future of the planet and civilization looked incredibly grim. I
was not excited about bringing another person into the mess, particularly one I
imagined I would love and who would most likely outlive me.
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