Tuesday, June 12, 2012

If All Children Were Cherished

If all children were cherished, would we still have war?

When we marry without self-esteem, we tend to marry one who is like us. In this manner, we justify our own existence, but we also multiply the chances that we will amplify our own weaknesses in the next generation. If we haven't learned to deal with our own weaknesses in ourselves, there is little hope that we will successfully deal with them in our mate or our children.Conversely, shame about who we are can lead us to choose someone quite the opposite of the source of our shame, without thought to what strengths this person brings to the union.

And then there is the pride in one's own ancestry that excludes all that aren't like us. These people are firmly convinced that their superior genetics must be preserved and passed on. Without being aware of the weaknesses in oneself and one's ancestors, the weak genetics will often be magnified in the offspring. How sad it is that we often choose automobiles and houses more thoughtfully than we choose our mates. How horrible it is that we often choose spouses and bear children for much the same reasons as we acquire property, bragging rights. Any weakness is seen as a taint on the "owner's" reputation.

We have entered an era where unwanted marriages and children could be a thing of the past, even in cases of rape and incest.  We can take the time to carefully consider our own suitability to the lifetime commitments of marriage and children, even if we have already succumbed to our animal sexual instincts or been forced into procreation with a sub-human being. There would be no justification for neglect or abuse of spouses or children.

I would like to see less fertility clinics and more open adoptions. I'd like to see a time when those who object to abortion are willing to  make the commitment to give their lifetimes to the unwanted child. I'd like to see more people, who are concerned about their own genetic weaknesses, adopt children from tribes who don't share their genetic traits. I'd like to see people, who have no resources to share with their children, have temporary sterilization forced on them until such time as they are able to provide physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional support.

I'd like for teenage boys and girls to spend time as parents' helpers before they embark on their own procreative adventures. I'd like for us to stop acting as if babies fall from heaven like manna, and own up to the responsibility that comes with creating new life. If we choose to have children and really cherish them, we will have no excuse for abuse. Will the end of all war follow? I don't know, but isn't it worth a try?