Two things used to bother me about having kids:
1. Does the world really need more people?
2. Can I raise a child in today's complex and globalized world?
The first question is philosophical. A matter for another day. The second has two dimensions.
I worry about the trajectory of global terror and do hold the suspicion that, in years to come, more terror groups will come on board. Religious, ethnic, political. The world is getting more and more divided and it is possible that terror groups will at a point have access to chemical weapons.
Second dimension is on moral dynamics. The moral institution has come under heavy attacks and questioning, such that the world has come to accept so many things deemed outrageous. As we speak, there is a movement in the US to legitimize incest. Another for nudism. There is also a transgender debate that people should be allowed to switch sexes as they feel. A friend says in her office, you don't address a stranger as a he or she anymore. They could be offended. Her colleague feels masculine sometimes, other times feminine. Things are getting more and more complicated.
And the internet is helping the world's drive towards absent morality. Nearly every phone you can get for a child today has internet capabilities. Pornography, casual sex, etc., are just a click away. For those of us who are relatively conservative, this state of affairs worries. I believe that moral architecture is at the core of what makes a man a higher animal. The sad part is that there is hardly anything we can do about these. I still find having kids so scary.
Where is the world headed?
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