PXTOT: seriously your ideas are a bit out there. And for the record not ultra left wing, I am progressive, but your ideas speak nothing of adoption. I didnt see you write that having your own children while people are waiting to be adopted is selfish, you almsot advocated that being a parent at all is.

YEs, for the most part suvs are gas guzzlers and compltely wasteful, I say for the ost part because perhaps there are people for whio all terrain is necessary, I dont pretend to know everyones circumstance. Also, as Americans we do eat too much meat, but we are not supposed to be vegetarians. We should eat less meat, but this whole holier than thou thing is annoying, I know plenty of vegetarians who choose not to eat meat, but they dont preach about it. I know about the trophic levels of energy and such, but take for instance deer, which need to be thinned in my area and others. Are you going to attack hunters for killing and eating (I never advocate hunting for sport or anything endangered) something which would literally destroy itself by becoming too great in number?

You speak of guilt and not advocation that but your article smacks of smugness. I am not saying people should have kids are not, it IS a personal decision. But, the stuff youve written reminds of the group I read about that pledged to have no children because the human race needs to be gotten rid of essentially.

Yes having kids is a personal decision but you shouldnt claim not to make people feel guilty, that was a disclaimer; people should adopt more and not have 16 children, but saying no one should ever have kids period, or atleast no one whose middle class should is ridiculous. So for poor people and the rich its okay? BEcuase you know, nothing beneficial ever came of the middle class, no one has ever helped people who came from everything except arich or a poor background, that logics just ridiculous. Uggh I give up, do what you want, just try not to spread that rhetoric too far, help the environment and people; who knows maybe youll have a kid one day whose a noble prize winner. Would that person be a waste of resources and space too?

sorry I forgot to add something, what someone seaid earlier still resonates. If you honestly think people are so bad why not kill yourself? Not being malicous, or vindictive just curious. Sounds to me you are more like one of those people with messianic complexes bent on saving the world one childless vegetarian bicycle riding couple at a time.

My kids aren't yet teenagers, but they become more fascinating as they grow older. I think it will be exciting to watch them develop into responsible, intelligent and productive adults. Nurturing our kids is the way one generation passes the torch onto the next generation.

To pxtot, wow, you are really a grump! Please, please, stay away from all children lest you infect them with your negativity.

And I have to respond to one of the cited reasons for not having kids, the idea that no one over the age of 10 will ever throw up on you. Obviously, the person who came up with that line has never been in a frat house.

I'm 24 and still not sure if I want kids. Sure, they can be fun and they're cute, but does the fact that I may never want kids make me a selfish person? Or is it more selfish to have more kids than you can really support, or to expect preferential treatment because you have kids? It seems every time I go to the grocery store there are parents argueing with their children in the parking lot, and children throwing fits in the store. I think what makes me not want kids is seeing this confrontation and stress. Is it so selfish to want a nice, quiet life?

So I'm "out there," huh? I thought I was just pointing something out which should be obvious to anybody capable of two-step reasoning: The planet is overpopulated as it is, and an American lifestyle unavoidably creates consumption many times what is needed for sustenance. It therefore follows that if you don't want to worsen this situation, you shouldn't have children. If you don't care whether you worsen this situation, or you believe that you are fulfilling some higher good which outweighs this negative factor, then go right ahead, but the consequences of your actions are still the same. I think recognizing this is called "responsibility."

The argument about suicide would only make sense if you believed that a person didn't have the right to exist for some reason. I don't believe that anyone who is already here is too unworthy to deserve to go on living, regardless of what they do. And I do think that it is vitally important that every child be parented well. But there are already plenty of children who need homes, so it's doubly hard not to see the decision to procreate as an act of selfishness.

As for your Nobel-prize-winning offspring, this brings me back to my earlier assertion about narcissism. (I guess it might also imply that an adopted child couldn't win a Nobel.) Really, your chances of winning Lotto are way better.

Just want tomake that comment, and I wasnt implying biological kids have anything over adopted kids. I was just making the point its ridiculous to say middle class people shouldnt have kids, apparently with the view that everyone else can. Nobel Przes are unlikely, highly so, I was just sayying that not every person born, whether middle class, rich, poor, American, or otherwise, is going to be evil. That maybe some people outway there good. And no the suicide comment has nothing to do with your right to live. The idea wqas that simply if you believe that every person is a drain on the world and thus Earth should be rid of humans than why not kill yourself. It has nothing to do with your right to live, a right to live argument comes dangerously close to sounding 'pro-life'.

Narcissism, is that your favorite word? Seriously,your entire belief in having kids and adopting is that it is narcissistic, that in andof itself is a holier than thou, smug argument. You pretend to know everyone oppiniofor having kids,it might not to serve a higher purpose (I doubt all parents are religous, or even spiritual). Ifyou say Americans should adopt and not have biological children, thats fine people may disagree but I understand where you are coming from. But haf the time you sound liek itd be a drain on the world to merely parent children if you live in America, and that is just unkind and truly selfish; selfish because it might benefit you more to have children living in cramped conditions (orphanages), so that they dont drain resources. And as for overconsumpion, wehy do you have a computer, why not live somewhere else, perhaps volu\nteer and donate all money to those who cannot even afford sustenance. By using more electricty you are voluntarily being overconsumptive.