After waking up much too early to arrive at Debate Nationals, one of my Debate Union team members (Duncan Anderson) pointed me in the direction of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. The movement aims to restore the Earth from degradation by not pro-creating. Of course, this is a hilarious website, but it belies an even bigger question about human beings and our biological need to have our own children. I was discussing with a friend why I wanted to have my own children (and also adopt), and she just kept on saying that adopting is better. Her arguments were:
- These kids are already here, they need your love;
- Having more kids will not stop environmental degradation;
- You need to break out of the biological cycle that binds you to only care about people that share your own biological traits.
The only arguments I had for her were that I would adopt, but I want my (and my wife's) kids too. The sheer "coolness" or having a child be the product of both me and my wife was worth the trouble. So, I'm in Corvallis, WA at National Parliamentary Debate Nationals. We'll see how this turns out; I have a lot more schoolwork to do (such as writing an essay on water marketing). This upcoming Tuesday is the day that I will know about the Truman scholarship. Fingers crossed (and another post forthcoming about the interview and preparation).