Conservatives say they revere tradition. Do they really? Liberals say they respect life. Do they really?
There is a tradition that stretches back billions of generations, back to the very first living creatures. That tradition is reproduction.
Some of your ancestors lived long, easy, and happy lives. Most probably did not. Most fought bloody tooth and nail to survive long enough to reproduce, then successfully fought to keep their progeny alive.
You had ancestors that lost children to ancient and deadly predators like the saber-toothed tiger; then took vengeance by hunting the species to extinction. You had ancestors that had some of their children starve to death, then hunted other species to extinction for food. Ancestors who committed genocide against other nations when they felt threatened. Ancestors who gave everything they could so that they would survive and their children would survive.
A tradition of survival and reproduction has been handed down to you. A tale with more drama, more action, more horror, more joy, more sorrow, and more sacrifice than any you have ever heard or imagined.
And yet you think you have more wisdom from your measly few years alive than the ancient and fundamental force of life itself. You think having children is a choice of convenience. You think it’s a responsibility that you can take a pill daily or get snipped once and avoid. You think accidentally contributing to that holy tradition is a “mistake” that can be murdered in cold blood so you can continue your meaningless life of pleasure. You are a god damned abomination.
Right now, you are the point of the spear for an army that was born as a single cell at the dawn of time. An army that has never been defeated, an army of your ancestors that has claimed victory innumerable times. The weight of duty to win the next battle rests solely on you. Should you lose, should you die childless, a billion billion of your ancestors will turn over in their graves.
You may have made mistakes leading to this moment, you may have misunderstood the purpose of life so far, but there is still time to change your thinking. Carry forward the mantle, the only thing in life that matters. Have children.
People who have children gain an understanding of life that the childless can never grasp. They understand what it is to value something more than your own life. To be willing to die in any instant if necessary to protect your child. To live and make sacrifices of yourself to help your child thrive. Having children gives you the joy of joining the mighty purpose of life, and gaining access to the meaning of life.
The purpose of every living being, from the smallest single celled organism to the largest whale, is to survive and have children. Every ant, every mouse, every butterfly, every cat and dog, and every human has this imprinted as our core purpose in our DNA.
Go forth and reproduce.