What motivates someone to bring kids into a “horrible and hopeless world?” Seattle Dad is glad you asked.
Publisher’s Note: When The Good Men Project first started, we set out to “spark an international conversation about what it means to be a good man.” We didn’t really know how we would do that. There were no protocols for deep, engaging, structured conversations about a specific topic — conversations that the whole world is invited to. For a while The Good Men Project looked exactly like most other online magazine — well-written and well edited articles by men, about men, for men. But we keep coming back to the idea that this is more than a magazine. Better than a magazine. It’s a multi-platform, multi-media conversation.
And we now know what that conversation looks like. Someone on the Good Men Project staff can write an article, seen by someone 2 time zones away. A conversation unfolds on Twitter. Questions are asked. Someone else writes a second post. It gets published on a blog. We see the blog and republish the blog here. We hope this will prompt more people to talk, more people to tell their story.
A worldwide conversation has emerged. Here, it’s on parenting.
This post originally appeared on Seattle Dad’s blog “Luke, I am Your Father.“
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A couple of days ago while on Twitter, I passed along a link to a post by Robert Duffer ( @RobertDuffer ) over at The Good Men Project titled ‘What They Don’t Know: The Dad Movement Has Never Been Stronger‘. The post seeks to call attention to the fact that despite the perception in the mainstream media that this is a down year for dads, there is much evidence to the contrary. This includes pointing out the positive presence that Dad’s have on the internet, including the work of many very involved Dad Bloggers. Kudos to Duffer for pointing this out, and I suggest you read the article and visit many of the multitude of links he provides referencing the involvement of today’s fathers.
I was a little surprised by this tweet. I’m not really sure I understand your perspective @PivotalDude — I’m not sure whether you have kids or not, or if you are just trying to look for reasons someone would want to be a parent in today’s society. That you mention you are not being snide indicates that this was a serious question. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to respond in more than 140 characters. I’ll try here.
What about things such as 27000 species of microbials going extinct every year, an orange having the nutritional value of 1/8 orange 100 years ago (are you actually conscious about what you and your kids are eating or is it skimmed over, my parents for instance never questioned supermarket food), the increasing climate hazards, risks of economic collapse, civil wars, immigrants, increase of violence, etc. etc. Not to mention the decrease in quality of education, health care, housing, freedom in general. Are your kids truly going to have a good life, as good as it may seem now?
I think it is barbaric to bring kids into this world. This is a slaughterhouse, not a decent place.
Agreed. Things have gotten better every year, but ease communication and our increased ability to change the world, makes the world seem more and more in need of changing.
Thanks for the positivity.
-M
I agree most people in this world are good but for the % who are not , particularly in my advocacy which is the sexual abuse prevention of children, we have a duty of care, as parents ,to educate our kids in all areas of safety and that includes ‘body safety’. Sadly, many parents I encounter are so delighted with their children (and rightly so) they turn the other way when it comes to body safety. Sorry to turn the conversation around but for some kids it is not all laughter, light and wonder.
Children restore in us the wonder needed to care for our world. Other things inspire wonder, but none so consistently as the eyes of a child.
It’s sad to see people who have lost this sense of wonder. As I tried to convey, this is almost impossible as a parent. After all, we get to see it first hand on a daily basis.
I appreciate your sentiments James. I saw some similiar “this world is too evil to have children” rants on FB following Newtown. In my opinion children are the trump card this world holds to evolving to something better. My five year old is FAR MORE advanced than I was at his age (and I’m not saying that boastfully); I’m constantly in awe of how he breaks down the world and synthesizes the experience.
I wish you the best as you navigate your children through the spring of their lives; we parents need as much support as we can get. :0)
Thanks, we sure can. And I have a 5 year old who does the same. It’s an amazing thing to watch, and impossible not to take away from it the sense that he will make a positive mark on this world.
What do you do if he becomes a murderer or a rapist?