A big curtsy to the friend who sent me the link to Mark Steyn in Opinion Journal today. It's terrific, so I don't know what I could add besides an introduction.
Before Christmas I attended a carol-fest where most of the attendees were professional musicians who were in it not as an expression of belief or worship, but for the sake of beauty and the joy of exercising skill. One guest, seeing a picture of our brood, said, "Great kids! I always regretted not having a fourth. Three is nice, but four just seems perfect somehow."
I thought to myself, "Wait for it," because in these circles it is not possible for people to restrain themselves from taking a poke at my Catholic faith. Of course, if I ever dreamed of teasing them about their lifestyles --no matter how gently or playfully-- it would be evidence of close-mindedness and judgment, but leave that be for the present. Where was I? Ah, yes. Waiting for it. Sure enough: "Of course, you --you're probably on your way to ten or twelve." (Why did she not add: "not that there's anything wrong with that?").
I told her about a USA Today story last year purporting to show that four children has become something of a trend among the wealthy. The idea is that "three" might be just an attempt to have at least one of each sex, but "four" means you choose to have that many kids --and can afford to have them. So I joshed that I was just keeping up with the Joneses.
She: "Gosh, really? In my day I was made to feel odd for having three. No one ever wanted to have more than one."
Me: ". . .and hence the Social Security crisis."
And with that I send you to Mr. Steyn, who says we need to pay more attention to primary --rather than secondary-- societal impulses.
in the typical election campaign in your advanced industrial democracy, the political platforms of at least one party in the United States and pretty much all parties in the rest of the West are largely about what one would call the secondary impulses of society--government health care, government day care (which Canada's thinking of introducing), government paternity leave (which Britain's just introduced). We've prioritized the secondary impulse over the primary ones: national defense, family, faith and, most basic of all, reproductive activity--"Go forth and multiply," because if you don't you won't be able to afford all those secondary-impulse issues, like cradle-to-grave welfare.
Americans sometimes don't understand how far gone most of the rest of the developed world is down this path: In the Canadian and most Continental cabinets, the defense ministry is somewhere an ambitious politician passes through on his way up to important jobs like the health department. I don't think Don Rumsfeld would regard it as a promotion if he were moved to Health and Human Services.
Rumsfeld at HHS! Just the thought of him taking questions from the lady-groups on all their pet issues is enough to keep me laughing the rest of the day. But the rest of the column is deadly serious. Please RTWT. And don't come back here 'til you do.
