Furthermore: Babies and Elders
Both under-appreciated
“Babies Needed,” I said, and readers misunderstood.
Let me clarify. We — who worry about a birthrate below replacement levels —want the same thing Zero Population Growth wants. They want a stable, not growing, planet population. We want a stable, not steadily diminishing, global population. Different fears, theirs based on what happened over the past century, ours based on what probably lies ahead.
We, too, want Zero Population Growth.
Many of us would like that stable population to be somewhat smaller than it now is. The practical question is when to start trying to change things. In many places birth rates of, say, 1.5 per woman, are already entrenched. Should we wait to talk about the dangers until it’s true world-wide?
As that rate takes hold, here’s what happens: Every year the old-to-young ratio becomes more top-heavy. Every year fewer workers support the retired. The broad perspective of elders becomes ever more dominant, leaving less room for the creative energies of the young.
Immigration is good for many reasons. But if the world develops as expected, immigration is not a long-term solution
Two short, clear explanations of the issue:
The New Economics of Fertility, IMF
Global Fertility Has Collapsed, The Economist
Age is More Than a Number, I wrote. Readers concurred.
On first retiring:
“I felt like a 20-something, but without the angst.”
“What engrosses me now is the present.”
On the way life-long traits mature:
Bravery comes in different forms with age. Today we tried to visit a Celtic Hill fort in Provence, but private property owners had completely and illegally blocked the public footpath. Did we give up? No, we knocked on doors and in fractured French tried to explain that they cannot own a 2000 year old site and that history matters. It didn't work, but my 18 or 28 o 38 year old self would not have even tried to make the point. Jacquelline Stewart
Other maxims capturing what the decades have taught us:
Every day is good; some are better.
All righty then.
It could be worse.
Good enough.
It’s more complicated than that.
Never mind!
Advice from the perspective of years:
Always keep trying
Love peace and pursue peace.
Don’t get married at 21. You don’t know yet who you are.
Jennifer Caseltine-Bracht, offers a maxim that is also advice:
“Hope is a verb”.
When Trump started enacting harmful environmental policies, I signed petitions, wrote letters, planted a tree or a flat of native plants. When our state passed legislation that hurt our wetlands, I planted more plants, wrote more letters, donated to conservation causes, and signed more petitions.
When Roe v Wade was overturned, I donated money to the National Network of Abortion Funds. When I read comments or articles on social media celebrating Dobbs, I donated more money. . . I realized I would go broke if I donated money every time I got angry, so I kept track and dedicated a small amount of money to each fight . . . the focus kept me grounded.
When Trump railed against immigrants, I volunteered to register voters after naturalization ceremonies. I have helped people register to vote for years, and I had never seen people’s eyes well up with tears when they put the “I voted” sticker on their clothes.
Even doing a little thing makes me feel a bit more in control.
A discussion with Christopher Glazek, that led me to insight.
Christopher: Everything happens for a reason.
Me: I can’t believe that any more. On the other hand, I do think that from most of what happens, we can grow, or at least learn.
Something from “Call the Midwife” has always stayed with me. The Mother Superior responded to tragedy by saying “God is not in the event, but in the response.” I’m not sure what it means, but it seems to point to something helpful.
Christopher: I found the quote so intriguing that I looked it up. The line is followed by"He is in the love and concern and caring.”
Me: As an agnostic I’d take that to mean that in caring for one another we share whatever divinity there is.
Finally, some interesting links:
On the importance of play, so much more available in later years.
On the clarity that comes as death approaches.
Oldster, another Substack blog, invited six-word memoirs about aging.
I’ll be back next week. Let me know what you think. Space for comments below.
Loved this:
Something from “Call the Midwife” has always stayed with me. The Mother Superior responded to tragedy by saying “God is not in the event, but in the response.” I’m not sure what it means, but it seems to point to something helpful.
Thanks it might be helpful.