In Defense of the "Bred"

Posted by the better half of The Vigilant American...

After reading Jonathan V. Last’s article “There Goes the Neighborhood” in the September 13 issue of The Weekly Standard, I have run a mental gauntlet of emotions. I sped through rage and over indignation only to be side-swiped by horror, then compassion, and what I was finally left with was a sense of responsibility. So I write now on behalf of the as-of-yet politically voiceless pre-reading citizens of the world—“the bred”—children.

First and foremost, I am a Mother. That is one of many jobs I have sought thus far, and one in which I am employed for a lifetime. I do not criticize those who do not seek this job. By all means, we have free choice in the United States of America, or at least we do for now. And I think every mother knows that being a mother is a somewhat thankless job without promotion or pay suitable to constant and varied duties (CFO, Personal Chef, Chauffer, Nurse, and the list goes on). Mothers are incredibly criticized and undervalued in today’s world. However, as a mother it is important that we advocate for our children as we are the front-line experts.

Perhaps it is first important to note that child development specialists agree that children obtain much of their future success based on their lives before age 3. Perhaps this is why “graylandgal” whose parents “did not inflict [her] on society until [she] developed continence, self-ambulation, and social skills” maybe needs a little more work. If her parents had gotten her out of the house a little more to interact with the human race before age 3, she might find her self-proclaimed social skills more apt to dealing with others, even small others. I call for a little childhood re-development.

To agree, though, I too am not happy when any child, even my own, with their little “grubby, crusty” hands attack something I am wearing, “Mommy Wardrobe” or not. And I even get a bit embarrassed when we are out and about and I notice the pudding on my son’s chin was never wiped off from lunch. However, these little people were born with rights, the same as any other citizen of our country. And they are not to be “confined to a fenced-in area of the park” as suggested by a dog owner mentioned in the article. Some parents may need to do better with child/societal interaction. Anyone who has let a dog off a leash knows that one cannot be exactly positive what the dog will do. Although I hate kid to pet comparisons, it is analogous. Each child has a unique personality and will that changes by ages and stages. But you can leave a dog home alone when you run to the store. Not so a child.

With any Christian religious background whatsoever, this anti-child viewpoint is absurd, and I would not toy with any reader’s intelligence by citing scriptural doctrine reminding us of the fact that we ourselves are always children in God’s eyes. However I feel great compassion for people who cannot see that the family is the unit of life. No matter if that family includes children, couples, or self alone. But we all come from somewhere, don’t we? People with children generally enjoy most time as a family, and venture out in society together both out of necessity and—gasp!—desire. Should a family not go out to eat for fear a child might actually LOOK at someone in another booth and smile? Give me murder and mayhem, but I truly can’t deal with a child looking into my booth.

I could also attack this ridiculous idea that there is “societal machinery which supports and encourages baby-making”. Really? I guess we parents do get a tax break per child. But I really thought it was nature that encouraged baby-making. Silly me. Maybe I’ve been doing it all for the tax break and those nice, sanitary baby-changing stations in restrooms.

Absolutely one can live childless by choice and love it. But I can live with children by choice and love it. It is absurd to even talk about how being “family friendly” hurts America. The poor coworkers who work so hard to compensate for “child-loving colleagues”? And when these childless people die, who will work? These children that are such an inconvenience now are the same adults that will run America in the future. To not see that is just plain senseless. Or perhaps just plain self-centered. And we wonder why narcissism is on the rise, more so now than in any previous generation.

As we age, we see ourselves return to the traits of childhood with perhaps less “continence, self-ambulation, and social skills” but by that time we have earned it, right? So it must be excusable. I do hope the poor people that are childfree by choice (loving it!) and cheated out of their true selfish life in America will love it when no one is around to take care of them in their old age. Or even care about them, period. They’ll have to hire someone to care. And when they have no voice of their own left, no one will speak for them. Maybe they will find themselves fenced in at the park; leaving us normal folks alone so we don’t have to watch them in this disgusting state of old age. Or maybe a child will run up, sit on their lap, and put their grubby hands on them with a smile.