On Choosing Not to Reproduce Post 2
On Choosing Not to Reproduce
Authority
I wonder now whether my attitudes towards reproduction, parentage, fatherhood, and the responsibilities I would have are completely conditioned by society. Am I reacting against “natural” feelings that I would have regarding the children or child, or am I reacting against what I have been taught to believe are my responsibilities and duties? And so…is my antipathy towards these responsibilities just a reaction against compulsion from without?
Is my aversion for fatherhood then mainly a reaction against compulsion? A reaction against the “authority” of the responsibilities I am assuming would come into play? Are these responsibilities not just other kinds of laws for conditioning my behavior in socially-accepted (benefiting society as a whole as well) ways? Am I reacting against what I am projecting to be their assumed power because the compulsion I often feel from society as an individual is less than what I know I will feel when that society’s authority is represented as my own child? Can I refuse society where I can not refuse my own blood? In anticipating this weakness, do I then…seek to avoid the entire crisis by never giving birth to my own blood, and the future authority? Are there parts of myself I know I can not refuse? Am I afraid of my own inability to handle certain responsibilities in a profitable, positive manner?
You are completely incapable of handling responsibility anyway. Good riddance.
The Freedom of Never Existing
On the Outside
One immediately needs less of everything. It frees you from the idea of timeliness as well, of racing a biological clock. Your time is your own, for the rest of your life. It frees you from the necessity of building up resources in order to provide for future dependents. It allows for greater flexibility in a choice of careers: no longer must you chase the traditional spur of highest wages despite the price you pay in “reducing” (ignoring, destroying) other parts of your life. The reduction in stress is tremendous.
The greatest benefit, however, is the decision to stop seeking out members of the opposite sex. No more psychological games, no more lies, no more futile wishes, no more emotional turmoil, no more frustrated desires, no more confusion, no more disillusionment. No more loneliness in the midst of what is supposed to be a blessed state of intimacy. No more compromises.