How is it that anyone, let alone a United States senator like our own Mike Lee, could possibly suggest that having “more children” is a solution to the current crisis of climate change?
Do we really want to live in a world where we will be asking those same children one day soon to address the stark reality of the climate change that we ourselves have neglected? This is a crisis that threatens our very existence.
If the religionists among us really believe that having large families is some kind of solution to our very real problems, it seems to me they have entirely forgotten that (1) our state has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation; (2) each and every winter, we have the worst air quality in the nation; and yet (3) we continue to spend less on education, per pupil, than any other state.
If Lee were correct about overpopulation resulting in great new innovations, we’d surely have none of these problems. We routinely outstrip all of the other states with our high birth rates.
I challenge Lee to find the courage to explore, for once, the many advantages that come with thoughtful family planning – which means encouraging all of us to have fewer children, not more. With a world population of more than 7.5 billion, surely we don’t need an ever-higher birthrate.
Instead, we need to invest in the children we already have to ensure they are engaged and challenged, both by their parents and by the wider culture we all live in here in Utah.
Each child deserves an affordable and outstanding education, which should assist them in the pursuit of a wide range of opportunities. If we do that, then one day our children may become responsible adults who can successfully challenge and overcome the critical issues mentioned above.
One organization that does a great deal in our community to deal with some of these issues is Having Kids. If Mike Lee wants to help, he might begin by contacting them for more insight than he has presently demonstrated.
Thomas N. Thompson, Salt Lake City
