(With a Bow of Debt to Jonathan Swift)
It is a melancholy thought to remember a needle piercing the skin of one’s child – a mere babe – causing this precious offspring to howl with anguish. And for what? You brought said infant to the doctor in a state of health, and now a needle has penetrated that pristine skin. You want to howl in anguish yourself.
The fluid in the syringe attached to that needle is an inoculation – admittedly a clever stratagem – that utilizes the child’s own immune system to keep various infectious agents from causing disease.
What folly! Depriving children of their destiny, the Common Fate of Humankind, is sheer hubris. Who are we to interfere with what was normal and ordinary for every generation until these inoculations were discovered? If the intended lot in life for these little ones was to have the pockmarks of smallpox, the paralysis of polio, the deafness and infertility of mumps, or the brain damage of measles or meningitis, should we be standing in the way of what is natural?
No, this meddling must stop.
No more inoculations – just pure, clean infections with all of the celebrated consequences of having pulled through them.
And what of the children who do not, as it were, pull through? No matter. They were meant to perish. Their parents can have more children, if they desire, who perhaps will be hardier and better able to withstand the realities and vicissitudes of this life.
A Concession
But what of those parents, I hear you asking, who would prefer not to lose their less-than-resilient children? Perhaps they had trouble conceiving those offspring, or didn’t delight in being pregnant. Or, perhaps, they are particularly attached to the children that they already have, and fancy keeping them.
Perfectly understandable. Those who possess such delicate sensibilities should simply ignore the disparaging comments proffered by those whose strength and resilience enable them to forbear such sentiments.
For this subset of tremulous parents, therefore, isolation is the answer.
I propose remote locations set up in advance for just such families. Parents could bring these chosen children to live there, far from the sullied mass of humanity. These families will stay sequestered, living off the land and breathing the fresh, clean air of places unpolluted by the burning of fossil fuels.
Seeking What is Natural
For those who remain in populated areas, which will be most of us, a natural winnowing of the inhabitants will occur. I am sure the copious benefits of my proposal have already occurred to you, but, for completeness’ sake, I will articulate the details.
Before inoculations muddied the waters, human population growth was checked by spates of various infectious diseases which ensured that humans did not outgrow natural resources. In fact, assorted plagues winnowed the population over the centuries, allowing those who remained to spread out to newly-vacated farms or, if they were hired by an employer, to enjoy higher remuneration for their labor. Think of the economic opportunities for the half of the population of Europe who survived the Black Death of 1347-1351!
I profess in the sincerity of my heart that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of humankind, by encouraging nonintervention with children’s appointed lot, and thus ensuring the added benefit of keeping their skin free of punctures.