I'm sorry I made you cringe, DAM. The reason I personally have never sought to have children was very similar to Schopenhauer's quote you cited. I wanted to spare my children from a miserable life. Do I think that everyone's children will have a miserable life? Not necessarily. I think some have wonderful lives, however, I have a mental illness and I was largely deprived of healthy social relations when I was young. So I didn't have children because I was afraid I would both make a bad father and have bad genetics to offer them.Dontaskme wrote: ↑Fri Jul 23, 2021 8:42 amWith all due respect Gary. I personally cringe when I hear things like that.Gary Childress wrote: ↑Thu Jul 22, 2021 8:05 pm I don't have any children, siblings nor loved ones other than my parents to lose. In some sense, I suppose that makes me lucky but in others, it's sometimes very lonely and isolating and when my parents are gone, I'll be alone. And there will be no one to take care of me when I reach old age either. In that sense, I think I can identify to some extent with at least a small part of your loss (unless you have other children to help you along when the time comes).
I think it is wrong to impose the burden of responsibilty upon a child to be there for it's lonely, aging and dying parent. No child signs up for the job of caring for their elderly parent. It is a selfish idea to force such expectation on a child. It's not a childs moral duty to carry out what they never consented or signed up for.
It's like those selfish 600 lb overweight people, who just cannot stop eating, who then place the responsibilty of their personal hygiene general care and well being upon the tiny immature innocent shoulders of their children, all because they are too fat to care for themselves, it's the epitomy of pure selfish evil, that only exists in the human species.
If we are having children, just for the fear of being alone in the world, then we should not be having them. No child signs up for the job of wiping the slobber away from old peoples mouths, or wiping the shit from their arse. Those kind of jobs are for the already living, who have consented to the job in the first place, namely the nurses and care workers.
And I would never have children just to ensure that I had someone to take care of me in old age. However, it is a very real concern as a person grows older; what will happen to them. Will I die of poor health due to neglect and an eventual inability to take care of myself? It's something one thinks about from time to time.