One and all:
Today at lunch I read this column that was published in last week's issue of Forbes. It's by a British historian, Paul Johnson, who has an occasional column there. It begins...
One of the nightmare visions that has faded away in recent years is the "population explosion." Even in the Third World rates of increase are rapidly slowing down. The danger now lies in the opposite direction. Europe in particular is producing fewer and fewer children, with a high percentage of those who are born coming from immigrant families.
Italy is a sad case. As recently as the 1930s it had one of the world's highest birthrates. This was reflected in Mussolini's plans to colonize Africa and encourage migration to Argentina. Today Italy has one of the lowest birthrates. You can go into villages in northern Italy, whose inhabitants enjoy living standards their grandparents wouldn't have believed possible, and look in vain for children. The Italians are rich in all material things--save life.
Germany is just as sterile. In France things are marginally better, but...
The author talks about the decline of marriage and religious practice and the fact that kids are expensive and career-hampering, among other things.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but think that there are very few families that I know of (aside from ours and the Roozens) where siblings who are our contemporaries from large families are most all having fairly large families themselves. (For instance, Mike Campbell, one of seven, may have six but his siblings haven't been very prolific.) I can think of several large families where many of the kids have no children or perhaps one or two. (Kind of like the Beaver boys I guess so maybe that's been going on for a long time.)
Hit the link and read the author's thoughts.
http://www.forbes.com/columnists/columnists/forbes/2006/0417/031.html
For what it's worth, Colin regularly reminds me that he's going to have seven, just so he can "one up" me. (I tell him we that might not be done...) His buddy, Nick Conley, one of six, told me a couple of weeks ago that a gal he goes to college with at Idaho has "committed" to giving him eight if he'll marry her!!
Big families might be coming back. (More fodder for discussion on the cruise north this summer.)
Happy Easter!!
Dan
(Posted wirelessly from my kitchen table!)
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3 comments:
uncle dan... i plan on having at least 6 too!! and then i'll move to italy and show 'em how its done! :)
I love big families, my own included, but I think I'm going to take mine one at a time!
Geeze...Ed, you get the house nearly finished, remove your nail belt and you're off on other adventures..I admire your spirit.
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