Way Too Many Flowers! Welcome the Little Ones!
Cherokee Park Wild Flowers, Photo by Rose M. Bryo
“Too Many Flowers!” Watercolour Painting by Rose M. Bryo is a reference to Mother Teresa’s critics who said the population was too great, and too many children were being born into poverty. She declared: That’s like saying there are too many flowers!
Mother Teresa states: “How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers.” Let us use this reference to beauty to explore the beauty in children being born in locations where poverty and starvation are common social problems. The Population Research Institute (PRI) can help run the numbers, and explain why or why not there may be a population crisis in the world. Contraception, abortion, and sterilization are being promoted world-wide to stem population growth. Is this a beautiful thing? Is it good?
The replacement rate of 2.1 children per family results in a stable population. Some countries are far below that. Japan is at 1.2 children per woman. This can have devastating effects on the economy. People are living longer, and with the low birth rates, there are fewer people working, paying taxes, contributing less to support the elderly, sicker population. Most developed countries have reductions in population underway.
There is more than enough food, and we are producing more food on less land, and some land has been converted to more fertile soil, allowing us to produce more grain and crops. We have more than enough food for everyone on earth, but access is limited in many places. Overpopulation does not cause poverty. Reducing poverty is a complex task, but one ingredient is community, and with that comes a collection of minds. Julian Simon, an economist, has said the multiplication of humans has directly lead to the improvement of our species. Population control has been shown to hurt the poor. Family planning programs miss the point. People who are hungry, cold and exposed need food water and shelter, not population control.
The global fertility rate has dropped the last 50 years. More people are moving to the cities where better healthcare is available. With improved healthcare infant mortality is reduced, and parents decide to have fewer children, since their surviving children age into adulthood. Jobs, education, culture, and healthcare draw people to the city. More opportunities present themselves in the city. More than half the world’s population has become urbanized since 2008. Fewer children leads to aging populations which leads to a slowing of economies.
Mother Teresa recognized the beauty of children, but the secular world is blinded by its greed and selfish goals, and refuses to acknowledge the human dignity of these beautiful children. We need to refocus our energies on the search for Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. Please help fight the myth of overpopulation, and the various evils promoted by the Culture of Death. Visit www.pop.org and https://www.mercatornet.com/demography/view/why-we-should-be-wary-of-blaming-overpopulation-for-the-climate-crisis/23280 to learn more. The second site is a commentary from Mercatornet which explores the relationship between population and climate change.
With love,
Rose M. Bryo
Flowers in a Field. Acrylic painting by Joe Castlen.
Beauty of God’s Creation