Don’t let “climate change” stop you from having children | Opinion

There is a growing argument that America’s declining birth rate is actually a good thing because the fewer people on the planet the better we can fight climate change. But this argument is just the latest attempt to attack the roots of American greatness by attacking the American family, a strategy that has been used by the left for decades.

These are the same people who want to force us to stop eating meat and eat insects and lab-grown alternatives, to give up homeownership and live in pods, to ditch gas stoves and switch to all-electric cars — everything they propose promises to make our lives worse.

Of course, they never mention that only about 15 percent of carbon emissions come from the United States (with China being the biggest polluter) and that an estimated 81 percent of marine plastic waste comes from East Asia. Instead, they call for policies that debilitate our industries, jeopardize future public programs, and limit family formation, all for goals that will do little to reduce the total amount of pollution produced worldwide.

When people wonder who will fund the operation of our government in the future, the answer is often immigrants, despite the fact that immigrants generally put a strain on our welfare system and that immigration to the United States dramatically increases carbon emissions by a factor of four per immigrant.

Their movement is anti-human, anti-family, and anti-life, and Americans should wholeheartedly reject this ideological contempt for the nuclear family and instead cherish the beauty of family life.

In my opinion, strong families are the foundation of strong communities, and strong communities are the foundation of strong nations. The strength of our families determines the strength of our nations. This is a central theme of my latest book. Dangerous BattleThe book discusses the vital role that the family plays in the nation and the dangers our society faces as the family declines.

In my book, I point out that our birth rate is at its lowest in 100 years, falling to 1.6 births per woman, well below the 2.1 births per woman needed to sustain the nation well into the future. I talk about our culture’s shift from a focus on family to a focus on luxury and carefree childless lifestyles, and the tragic fact that 43 percent of first marriages end in divorce. Fewer and fewer couples are choosing to get married. Of those who do decide to have children, roughly one in four are being raised in a single-parent home, a higher rate than any other country in the world.

It doesn’t take much digging to see what happens when families break down: Children in single-parent homes, for example, are more likely to develop behavioral disorders and depression, attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, drop out of high school, and engage in criminal activity than those who grow up in two-parent homes. Other studies have shown that children without fathers are 20 times more likely to end up in prison than those who grow up in intact homes.

All of these dire outcomes are symptoms of a deeper societal corruption, and they all stem from a cultural assault on the institution of the family.

Today’s calls for Americans to reject the nuclear family and sacrifice having children in order to stop climate change are eerily reminiscent of the ancient practice of sacrificing children to please the weather gods and ensure a good harvest. This is superstition, not science, and anyone who calls you to abandon your most sacred calling, parenthood, is trying to lead you astray.

As Americans, it is our duty to prepare our nation for the future by supporting families, building communities, and fostering civic values ​​in the next generation. If we want to compete on the world stage with countries like China and India, both of which have populations of over a billion people, we must encourage family formation, strengthen communities, and develop education systems for our children.

Unless we confront these attacks on the family head on, our cultural crisis will only continue. Our nation has long relied on the family unit to strengthen the bonds of community that have led us through our greatest hardships. Today, we all must do our part to restore the vibrant bonds of our communities. And it all starts with restoring the family to its rightful place as a fundamental building block of American society.

Dr. Ben Carson Founder and Chairman of American Cornerstone Institute.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.