Van Campen Family Portrait in a Landscape (early 1620s)
I have become very aware lately that our media and radio
personalities tend to highlight the dysfunction found in the most fundamental unit of our society – the family (or as Grandmammy says, famdams). This post will hopefully
bring a little balance, and perhaps some optimism, to the modern family.
I want to start off with some hard-hitters. Don't be alarmed. It's okay!! If you get overwhelmed then please don't hesitate to grab your towel and place it on your head. *nerd* (WHO KNOWS THAT REFERENCE??! Super-kind-of-me hint: "A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.")
Here we go: how many kids do you think a modern family should have? Now that you’re thinking about it…do you think the world is overpopulated and could really use a few less "carbon footprints"? Lots of people = a major depletion in resources, problems for our future chances of civilization, global warming, and a collapse in our global economy ...right?
Prepare to have your mind blown by science. If you are curious about any of these questions then the following documentary is for you:
PS. Listeeen, it’s awesome that you want to watch the whole thing – you overachiever
you – but I think you’ll get the meat (or tofu...) of it if you just watch the
first few minutes of Part 1 and the middle of Part 2.
Part 1
Part 2
The following are questions you will have answered by the end of this documentary:
- Less people the better right?
- Are "big" families wrong?
- Does the media really influence perceptions of world population growth/decrease?
- What about Mexico? There will always be a lot of people eager to come here from Meso-America right?
- Will our economy change with less people?
- What's human capital? Why does human capital or even moral capital matter?