The Population Bomb: Underpopulation

In 1968, Paul Ehrlich wrote and published The Population Bomb. Its message contained the warning that at approximately 3 billion people on earth, earth was severely overpopulated. He predicted that nothing would prevent the imminent death rate as the population rose and the food supply decreased. He predicted a lack of jobs, global warming, increased disease, and an insufficient supply of water and oil if the population continued to grow.

Over time, he sold millions of copies of his hastily written book. It was full of incorrect logic, incorrect research, and more importantly, incorrect predictions that spread a wave of alarm across the world. Organizations, governments, and schools began doing everything they could to reduce fertility. Having too many kids suddenly held a negative connotation. 

Our population has closer to 9 billion people on the earth today. The facts have revealed the benefits and sustainability of the increased population. 

Oil reserves have refilled. Clean water is more accessible than ever. The proportion of hungry people dropped from one in four to one in ten. Areas that are suffering from starvation are typically suffering because of a corrupt government, not a lack of food. Our agriculture technology has improved enough to sustain 9 billion people on the planet.

Having children helps the environment. Logistically, any time there are more houses with less people in it, electricity, heating and air conditioning, and space are saved.

Having children helps with mental illnesses. There are less people suffering loneliness or other mental illnesses because the child keeps them busy, distracted, or happy and comforted. 

Having children helps other children because they are able to practice person-to-person communication, rather than playing on electronics all day.

Having children keeps us humble, grateful, inquisitive, and patient. Children melt adults' hearts so that we have a greater capacity to love.

Having children satisfies a deep part of our divine identity that is engrained in our souls. It is natural, beautiful, and God--or any great being you ascribe to--would not want to diminish that beauty in any way. 

Having more children increases contributions to innovations. When there are more people, there are more ideas for solutions to problems.

Even the Romans understood how important it was to encourage families to have kids. They realized that encouraging families to have children also helped expand their empire and create happy, healthy, busy, communities. And they knew that a happy, expanding, innovative community was sure to benefit their entire empire. 

Overpopulation is no longer the issue: underpopulation is. Organizations and governments that sought to decrease fertility succeeded. More and more women delay having children, decide to only have one or two children, or decide to pursue a career instead. Now, there is a stigma against women that stay in the home to raise their children. There is a stigma against women having more than a few children.

We need more defenders of the family. The wonderful mothers and fathers of our community are often so busy raising their kids that they don't have time to defend their decision to have a family. 

What can you do to defend the family? How can you encourage others to do the same?

The greatest export of the United States is our culture and media. We make more media than any other country and set the trend for other countries. The politics that influence our media therefore influence the world. So, a simple answer to what anyone who cares about the family and wants to be more involved in its defense is to be more involved in politics and social media.

These platforms are tools that can be used to spread information -- good or bad. They provide the perfect opportunity for busy mothers to defend the family. They provide the perfect opportunity to spread the right information and the right reasons we should be encouraging fertility

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/book-incited-worldwide-fear-overpopulation-180967499/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v+lzeyYlsGdAA&t=2s