Who Needs Enemies?

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Next Generation

Why the ennui? Whence the lack of wherewithal to procreate, raise healthy, happy children within a lifelong , committed "Domestic church" called the family? Are these such banal, futile aspirations?

What are better aims? Those determined by Madison Avenue, MTV and the storefronts in the Mall?

Cardinal Lopez Trujill shares his opinion at Spero News regarding the "suicide" facing Western societies, primarily in Europe. He says,

"In the Western culture, we have been witnessing a society model of extreme liberalism rooted in moral relativism, refusing the traditional family model based on marriage between a man and a woman, and thus other types of unions have been put forward such as civil unions, de facto unions, and even unions of persons of the same sex. This has resulted in the exaltation of individualistic models with a profusion of rights but a refusal to assume the corresponding responsibilities."

The result? "That the fertility rate of 1.47 babies per woman is low, according to the 2005 estimates for the European Union as a whole, is a well-known fact," said the cardinal. A rate of about 2.1 in a stable society is considered necessary to keep that society’s population constant in the long-term.

The whole article can be read here

His Eminence notes that Western people have been accumulating more and more "rights" in their own minds while discarding more and more of their duties. These rights always work against new life. "Among the rights that have been diffused have been those of abortion and of reproductive health, bringing about a change in mentality," he said. "Also, the creation of a welfare state in Europe has aggravated the problem by imposing high taxes and perverse incentives. Young people are faced with high taxes and a high rate of unemployment, which also contributes to delaying the time of marriage and in limiting the size of the family."

"Powerful multinational lobby groups and international organizations such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation" are partly responsible "for eroding family values and responsibilities," Cardinal Lopez Trujillo continued. "They attempt to introduce in some countries 'sexual education' in primary and high schools, often without the consent or at least the support of the parents, teaching the use of masturbation, contraception, 'safe sex,' and condoms. . . ."

In my Ethics class at Duke, Waldo Beach taught us about "consequential judgment." We don't get to blame God when tons of metal that we ride screaming through the sky at 40,000 feet plunge to Earth. If we live in Oklahoma, we'd better have a storm shelter. If we live in trailer park in Florida, guess what will probably come calling?

If a vast majority of our children, or present young (but aging) adults decide not to marry, not have at least 2.1 children, not enjoy the family comforts and adventures of lifelong self-donating love, guess what happens, demographically?

This is consequential judgment. The Father of the Prodigal can only wait and watch for the wayward ones' return to simple sanity beyond self-centered "fulfillment" projects and the latest fashion ware and independency.