First of all: great topic and great viewpoints presented. Unfortunately I think you guys are
mostly wrong becaue you are looking at this from the wrong perspective. This issue is being discussed from the perspective of a capitalistic consumer-oriented, money-oriented society. I think this is patently wrong because that is not who we are. We are human beings.
Let me also state that my comments will be addressed to the more generalized statement that being a
parent is the hardest job in the world which, by definition, includes the topic of the thread...because the issue can't be stated so simply as to single out a mom only.
Now before you turn off your ears because this sounds too ideological or unrealistic, hear me out:
Quote:
Originally posted by syracusa,
Babies are NOT mandatory - they are made for parents' pleasure and personal fulflillment.
|
I agree that many, many people want to have babies because they essentially want a "living" babydoll. The child is viewed as a possession and not a human being...it is a thing to be used or not used...it is there soley for the benefit of the parent. (I know this from first-hand experience. As I child I often times felt like I was about as valuable as the toaster or the potted plant that sat in the corner of the living room.) They don't see the child as being an individual, but instead an extension of their derams. This is a terrible thing because once the child gets old enough to truly begin asserting their individuality the parent usually ends up driving them to rebellion, giving up on them, etc.
But this is not the case for
every parent. There are lots of people who give lots of thought to the idea of being a parent and they carefully consider the pros and cons. There are lots of parents who initially enter into parenthood in the method I described above but quickly realize the error of their ways and make the sacrifice to become a TRUE parent.
But in no way, shape, or form are babies optional. The continuation of humanity depends on babies. And it is for this same reason that being a parent truly is the most difficult job in the world.
If you view the concept of parenthood in economic terms then you might not agree that it is so difficult. And if you do view parenthood in that way then you are looking at it incorrectly. Like I said, we are
human beings first and foremost,
NOT the paycheck we earn at the end of the week nor the sum of our capacity to consume products.
Think of parenthood in the following terms and you can easily see why it is not only the hardest, but also the most important, job there ever will be:
- By giving life you are taking direct responsiblity in the continuance of the human race.
- You are responsible for the life of and well-being of a living creature.
- You are responsible for for the actions of this individual until they reach a certain age.
- You are responsible for developing their capacity to think and learn, for showing them what is important and not important in this world, etc. (I could go on but you get the point.)
- Your job as a parent never ends until you die. (and it could arguably continue even after that depending on your spiritual beliefs!) That means the job of being a parent lasts 24-7-365-RIP.
In the correct context parenthood is undeniably the most difficult and important job there is. There really isn't any point in measuring parenthood by any other means because without it we would be extinct and there would be no economic means of comparing it or assigning value to it to begin with!
I find it ironic to consider the amount of financial remuneration one recieves in return for what they do in life because it is in inverse to the importance of their vocation almost entirely cross the board. The most crucial job, the job of parenthood, pays nothing...in fact, it
costs you money to be a parent. The second most important job in the world, being a teacher, garnishes you a comical amount of financial reward. Now consider an actor who earns $20 million a film, or a baseball player who earns over $100 for a multi-year contract...or even more pathetically, a ceo who gets a multi-million dollar bonus for squeezing out an additional percentage of profit for the shareholders by shipping jobs to other countries where slave labor is practiced. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't wish that parents and teachers get financially rewarded in the way other, more useless, vocations get rewarded since the process obviously involves the loss of scruples and conscience!
Does this denegrate or lessen the importance of other jobs? Not at all. I'm merely trying to put things in perspective. Raising a child is a monumental task to undertake which is why we have people/moms like those mentioned...they aren't prepared for it or they simply can't deal with it. They discover that they aren't willing to sacrifice their time,
their very life, to meet the almost constant demands of another human being. So instead they whine and moan and behave like spoiled brats because their "dollie" isn't turning out to be as fun as they dreamed it would be.