A few years ago a friend was attending the Earth Day celebrations in her community with her five children in tow. She must have been quite the sight as she pushed her double stroller along with her three older children hanging on. She stopped at the over-population booth, which provided attendees with an array of literature enlightening them about the dangers of reproducing. She looked up from the literature and into the eyes of the gentleman manning the table and said, "We must be your worst nightmare." Shocked, the man said nothing as my friend strolled away. Then suddenly she heard him calling after her. He was running toward her, waving his literature frantically, yelling, "Wait, wait! It's not too late to stop!"
I propose that we save the earth by having more babies. Yes, you heard me right — go forth and multiply. The over-population crowd has it backwards, in my opinion.
My husband and I are parents to six children and counting. Yet, we use far fewer of the earth's resources than our friends and family members who have two and three children. And we especially use fewer resources than those who are two-income families.
We conserve wherever we can, not because the government compels us to do so, but out of necessity. I have been known to go so far as to rinse out and reuse cereal bags instead of buying baggies. I've even used onion bags as dish scrubbers.
We compost everything possible, from dryer lint to coffee grounds to vegetable discards. The compost is then used to feed our vegetable garden. The garden then provides a bounty of home-canned vegetables and fruit through the winter. And the cycle begins again. Since we grow some of our own food and eat vegetarian several days a week, big industry farms are not being heavily supported and cow waste isn't polluting the water table.
With six children, laundry can be daunting, so my children are instructed to keep their clothes tidy and wear pajamas for more than one night. Believe me, they keep clean knowing that Mom will be unhappy if they change clothes in the middle of the day. As a result, water and energy are saved.
While our smaller-family friends spend hours each week scouring the mall and running to various sporting events, we are home enjoying time as a family. The time spent away from home lugging our children to separate activities would be unthinkable. No fossil fuel wasted traveling all about town and no pollution being spewed into the air.
We live in the city as the suburbs are too pricey for us, so we are not contributing to urban sprawl. As our family grows, we simply stack the children in bunk beds instead of buying a bigger home.
With a large family, people naturally give us their hand me downs. I cannot begin to count the number of Sundays I've been approached at mass by a fellow parishioner with clothes for my children. My husband teases that we have become the middle men for St. Vincent DePaul Society. I pull out the clothes I need for my children and give the rest to charity or to other large families. No sweat shop workers being exploited to make clothes for my family
As Catholics, we teach our children to be good stewards of the earth. We are not to exploit it, but use it conservatively. Instead of soaking in the air conditioning, we play outside in the shade. We buy in bulk, so we're only throwing away one huge prepackaged container instead of a bunch of little ones. We enjoy home-cooked meals and avoid carry-out food when possible, so we're not filling the landfills with disposable foam products that have a half life of a zillion years.
So, the next time you're at an Earth Day celebration and the over-population gurus try to corner you with their propaganda, give them a shock and tell them that you are saving the earth by having more children.
This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:01 am
This author makes an excellent point. Mainstream families (and childless couples) are incredibly wasteful. In most household, both parents (if there are two parents) work fulltime, and therefore rely on convenience items such as paper products, etc to save time. There are exceptions, such as my husband and myself: we have not yet been blessed with children, and chances are that if we ever do have a child, it will probably be just one. However, we are not wasteful people, and we are conservative when it comes to things like disposable products, etc. We also prefer time together at home over activities like shopping, so consequently the mileage on our cars is very low (and we drive small, economy cars because of our small family size). Of course, the size of our family has its limitations: it is not often feasible for us to buy in bulk, for example (and I have to admit that I have never rinsed out a cereal bag!). But if we ever have a child, we plan to continue with the lifestyle that we are currently living. I think it's ridiculous for a child to spend 6 hours in school and then spend the rest of the afternoon, part of the evening and most of the weekend being shuttled from one activity to the next. There are plenty of learning and entertainment opportunities for children right at home.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:53 pm
God loves you .
Wish to delight in big families and big populations, from a purely scientific/economic/just-commonsense outlook?
Read Julian L. Simon - The Ultimate Resource 2 and The State of Humanity. Solid!
Of course, his evidence in The Ultimate Resource 2 is so unpopular with the usual (and absurdly credited) doom-sayers and their more-and-more morally cretinous MSM followers, I got a ‘very good’ used copy for $3.50 including shipping.
Remember, I love you, too
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
Pristinus Sapienter
(wljewell @catholicexchange.com or … yahoo.com)
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I smiled the whole way through this article. As a father of five (and hopefully more), I have first hand experience with this authors lifestyle. Our family has what I call 'joyful hope' - something that mainstream secular America has lost. My five year old asked me yeaterday to guess what he wanted for his birthday. After several tries at different toys, games, etc. I said, "I give up, what do you want?" With the sweet innocence that only a child can muster, he said "a baby!" That's what I call Joy! I get approached about my family's size often. My favorite response is "I'm a counterculter radical." That's usually stops people dead in their tracks. THe Earth-first, overpopulation libbies don't like to be reminded that they are not the hip counter-culturalists anymore! You gotta love our hip Church! Ever ancient, Ever new! Christ's peace and joy to you all!
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:36 am
God loves you .
theshahids - you have a profound point, there. Modern families get full of busy-ness, as Claire noted, when taking one’s family to the maximum harmony in the home makes for a cheerful buzz rather than a flying-all-about.
That five-year-old must be a constant delight, to have such curiosity and ambition to be a ‘big brother’ to the gift of a another, new, younger sibling. It speaks volumes of his older siblings. Use my email address below and I’ll tell you where you can ship him and maybe an older sibling to me for a month to revel in his/their innocent cheer and their harmonies of lives.
Remember, I love you, too
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
Pristinus Sapienter
(wljewell @catholicexchange.com or … yahoo.com)
March 27th, 2007 at 1:28 am
My husband and I have chosen to homeschool our children. We have also chosen to put our children in community activities such as baseball, soccer, softball, piano, and scouts. We definitely don't see it as wasted time or time taken away from our family. In matter of fact, we take these opportunities to pack a our picinic basket, if one of the kids have a Saturday game, and enjoy the day watching the kids play. Practices for that child's chosen sport is also time for the other chilrden to play on the swings or run around at the park. Piano recitals are rewarding for the kids who have practiced several months practicing at home and want to invite all of the family to hear their final achievments. Being in scouts has taught them how to give back to the community,and requires alot of child/parent involvement. (It is also good for their college applications.)
Our children have learned they're no different from other children because their homeschooled. They have had the opportunity to practice certain corporal works of mercy such as our catechism speaks of.
We have a responsiblity to make sure our children are exposed to things as such, as long as they are not detrimental to their souls. It is our responsibiity, as parents, to show our children to see good in all things or people because God has made them, even if we don't see things in the same light. To make clear that God comes first above all these extra leisures in our life. Too teach how we are to incorporate our Catholic lives in this world we are temporarily in.
We, in doing so, show others how God lives in us and we in God.
If God made it and it is good, then we must love it as well.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:32 am
God loves you .
IGHLC,
I wouldn’t doubt the cheerful buzz about your activities. I congratulate that your company has knowledge of the works of mercy, let alone acts upon them. Excellent catechesis, there.
Does your company as regularly - say, once a week - mount a pilgrimage to daily Mass? - one of the delicious treasures of homeschooling, that your schedule is essentially all your own.
Do you gather at regular times in ‘family Chapel’ - under a majestic Crucifix, for example - for prayers: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication - the four ACTS of prayer life?
Consider, too, opening homeschool with a relevant song or hymn. Use it as your gathering and settling song. One suggestion, from choir work of old:
Those ‘young, little pipes’ reaching up to our Beloved Spirit will be a memory of homeschool none of you will ever forget.
Remember, I love you, too
Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ,
Pristinus Sapienter
(wljewell @catholicexchange.com or … yahoo.com)
March 27th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Good points all around.
I think theshahids' point about startling the "Earth-first, overpopulation libbies" is a good one. What bothers them is not only that they are no longer hip and counter-cultural, but they know deep inside that they are not obeying God's first command, which is written in all our hearts, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it." When we voluntarily refuse to reproduce, we ensure our demographic, trusting in our own wisdom, will not be around for more than a few generations.
What bothers people who think this way more than hipness, I think, is the contrast between themselves and the faithful, trusting in God's wisdom, who will be around for many generations, as is evident by large, loving families.
Perhaps that's one reason the "homosexual rights" advocates are so loud and shrill. Since they don't reproduce they have to recruit.
We must pray for their conversion.
March 27th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
I did mention that we show our children that God comes first, not only by our words, but by our outwardly actions.
To be more specific, we as a family, do attend mass at least twice a week, not inlcuding first Friday (Devotion to the Sacred Heart), First Saturdays (Devotion to the Immaculate heart) and any other Holyday. During lenten season our parish gathers on Friday evenings to do the Rosary(which is always done before every Mass), the Stations of the Cross, then Mass. We use our sacramentals that God gave us as often as possible. (Sacramentals meaning going to confession, receiving Holy communion, using holy water often, saying the rosary, chaplets or additional prayers, adoring our Lord on the Crucifix, etc.)
Prior to beginning our school day, we offer up all our work for the Love of God. After dinner each night and before bed, we say the rosary together as a family.We clearly understand that we can do nothing without God and therefore offer our complete day to Him.
But I do want to thank you for mentioning the additional prayer to the Holy Ghost, which will be included as well.
Deo Gratias!