On Sunny Lane: Where is the Love?

Where is the love?

I have read, from time to time, that the number of births in the United States is near, or under, the replacement rate. That means that people are dying at a faster rate than people are being born.

Why aren’t people having babies? Oh, I know some people are having them. And there are some who, for various reasons, are not able to have any. And there are some communities that have lots.

It just seems to me that, if two people love each other, why wouldn’t they want to get married? And, if they love each other enough to get married, why wouldn’t they want to create more little human beings to love? I read a saying on a Salada Tea tag line once, many years ago, that said, “Love multiplies the more you give it away.”

One common reason people give for not reproducing is that it costs too much to raise a child. Certainly, news stories citing how many hundreds of thousands of dollars they say it costs are intimidating.

But, I wonder just what is included in all of the costs. Do the story writers include such costs as electronics, expensive motorized vehicles, private school, their own television, fees for extra-curricular activities and uniforms? Some things are optional.

I grew up in a neighborhood that had a family of eight children. They lived on a farm. They produced most of their own food. They wore hand-me-down clothing.

There were no Little League baseball or junior football teams in our neighborhood. There were enough children around the neighborhood that we could all play as much sports as we wanted. The parents did not organize or supervise. If there was a dispute--and they were very infrequent--we handled them ourselves. Parents were available if there was an emergency.

What I’m trying to say is that love finds a way. It finds a way to overcome economic obstacles by cutting out the fluff and focusing on what is important. It finds a way to deal with unpleasant situations. It finds a way to settle disputes with other people. It finds a way to overcome difficulties.

The fact is we need babies.We need them to grow up to be productive members of society. We need them to help solve society’s problems. We need them to make products we need and to provide needed services.

And, most of all, we need them to spread love.

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Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com