An Unpopular Conviction

This is one of my greatest moral convictions which has brought me endless ridicule, criticism, and controversy. However, it would be morally wrong of me to obscure and withhold truth for my own convenience, comfort, or even safety.

So here we go. I believe that reproduction is morally wrong. It brings misery on the living and the unborn. Since the human race began, it has been a tool to oppress women. It forces life upon the unborn, and life is merely varying degrees of misery. I was born and had to deal with fear, pain, anger, death, and other negative things my whole life, all of it forced upon me, and so have all of you. Just because an injustice falls upon every single person does not make it any less of an injustice.

Before any of you say that I am trying to form a nihilistic death cult, think about what you are saying. Do you think that a soul's existence begins with biological life, or anything material for that matter? That's what I thought.

So there you have it. Reproduction is painful, dangerous, and creates misery for everyone, but most importantly, it is unnecessary and 100% COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE. I mean, abstinence, condoms, birth control, whatever your method may be, it is completely preventable.

Additionally, while I am not advocating hastening of the deaths of already living beings, I have to share one of the experiences that brought me to this conclusion and sums up why I believe as I do. A few years back, a friend of mine that is significantly older than me and that I have always respected suggested that I read the Watchmen comics. He lent be the big volume an I read away. Near the climax, the Soviet Union is preparing to launch all of its nukes at the USA, who would in turn fire back. One of the protagonists (I can't remember her name) asks Dr. Manhattan to intervene, He says that, perhaps there is a chance he could stop *some* of the Soviet nukes, but is the instant annihilation of mankind that bad? No more striving, pain, war, suffering-it would just all end (it turned out that the nuclear war actually was avoided...). To me, reproduction is just forcing life (and therefore suffering) upon another person, not to mention the complications that it creates for the already living.

Please, everyone, consider my views on this matter.

Happiness is no more than choosing to look past the bad.

And your perception determines your reality. So if the bad stuff is ll you wish to focus on then the bad stuff is all you will notice. I am not trying to be hard on you or your beliefs. It is just that mine are in complete contradiction with my own beliefs.

I feel that it is the individual that brings the bad to life and that life is a wonderful miracle. And if you have ever experienced the moment of birth, from a personal perspective, I fail to see how you could hold a belief like that.

I'm sorry but I am still in a state of shock. I will have to meditate on this and reply again later. I hope that others will reply as well.

May the Force be with you, in all your endeavors.

Why did you become a Jedi then?

If life was all doom and gloom... Bad experiences and no hope....

Yea, that would suck..

But, since happiness, compassion, love and a plethora of other positive emotions exist I disagree...

But, you are entitled to your opinion....

Not everyone has experienced life as you describe it Star Forge, and you havent said anything to convince me for your position yet. While cessation of reproduction might be a perfectly valid belief individually, I do not think you could expect others to do the same solely based on your own life experiences.

We all experience it, to varying degrees and through various lenses. If you enjoy life, fine, so do I. I am merely stating that life contains pain, fear, etc., and it is against both my morals and my libertarian views to force life on the unborn. Just because something has been the norm does not mean it is right. Just because the majority of European Jews were herded into camps does not mean that such a life was considered a normal Jewish life. Likewise, just because we all suffer does not mean that it is not suffering. Like I said, unless you are an atheist/materialist, you understand that biological events have nothing to do with souls.

You assume souls exist, have always been and will always be.
Also, you assume that physical life (as opposed to soul life?) is more painful.

I can't claim to know what it is you've been through, but I assure you, a lot of people love life so much they fear death, and most importantly, having children is just as enjoyable as condom-free sex.

You know, in a way, I am sorry I even shared this. It's just, I cannot understand how people think. Human reproduction, to me, is physically disgusting, sociologically damaging, morally repugnant, and totally avoidable. People explaining how great it is to me are just as outlandish as would be someone explaining how fulfulling it is to eat feces.

Can not have good without the bad because without one neither would exist. My opinion is that life is a choice it shouldn't be forced on someone or taken away from them.

But everyone has their own opinion and all should be listened too and I thank you for sharing yours it has given my something to think about

Star Forge, your position seems based on that the life is forced, but what if its not forced....you might be assuming that the soul doesn't itself choose to incarnate into a particular body. If it is the choice of the soul, then would that alter your determination about reproductive morality?