The greatest obstacle to human progress is simple human ignorance. Ignorant human beings are more prone to have children for whom they do not provide adequate education. Breaking the cycle of ignorance is extremely difficult, because it inevitably necessitates addressing family planning and reproductive rights in society. The sacred cow of universally encouraged and unquestioned human reproduction, as seen everywhere in media, is counterproductive to alleviating poverty and ignorance in society.
This thought came to me recently on the subway, as I watched an adolescent mother being cruel and abrupt with a toddler, whom she was loudly encouraging to eat an ungodly meal in a box from Burger King. The smell of the box's contents caused me to gag, yet the teen mom was threatening the child with repercussions if he did not immediately gag down a portion of toxic french fries which would have sated a truck driver. When I looked over to the mother to suggest the child may be full, she shot me the kind of violent look I associate with gun-toting gangsters. I decided to be quiet, since the child would most likely bear her anger for anything I might have said. Instead, I focused my benign energy on the child, who smiled and waved at me. That innocent wave shot a pain through my heart. If this had been a rare experience on my subway line, I would not have been as deeply affected.
The issue of family planning is seen as a "women's issue". This is understandable, since the presence of men in the lives of their offspring seems to be dwindling, rather than growing. Single motherhood is a growing trend among the educated. It is vehemently defended by educated and more privileged women. What are the repercussions of these trends for the undereducated, when media promotes these behaviors in the educated? Is it really exclusively a women's issue?
The recent reactionary outrage over expanding health care in the U.S. is stunning in the face of increased fertility services and more enabling of adolescent girls who do become pregnant. And, the fall in public education quality in the face of large immigrant populations with large families does not bode well for the future. The recession of the U.S. economy will only worsen these situations.
As long as it is politically incorrect to frankly discuss the role of reproduction in the cycle of ignorance and poverty, the undermining effects of a growing undereducated population will erode the quality of American life for every citizen of America. The truth is often unpopular. I would strongly encourage women to open the conversation with media, government agencies and other women about these issues. It is as important an environmental issue as the failing oil economy.
