Population Control

Dare I say it?

Inspiration for my blogs comes from perusing the news - both national and international. On the BBC this morning I read a fascinating article about population control. Secretly, I'm an advocate for this idea. There are 7 billion people, and counting, in the world. Over 80% of us Earth citizens live on less than $20 Belize dollars a day. 3 billion people live on less than $5 Belize dollars a day. To contrast, the average Belizean enjoys a GDP per capita of $43 Belize dollars a day.

With numbers like that, it would seem that we are living in a good country. Mind you, $43 isn't a lot of money, but no one in our beautiful Belize is dying of malnutrition. We all do the best we can.

Should this idea of culling , however, apply to Belize, with it's small population and low population density? We're not China. We don't have a billion people, and we don't need a one-child policy. If we ever want a good Social Security system or an Universal Health Care system, we need a strong young healthy working population who can fund them.

To be frank, the poor and uneducated produce more children than the rich and educated. And most of the time, they can't afford to take care of their children without help from the state. But from these poor masses, some of the greatest Belizeans have risen and have contributed significantly to our society. It is undeniable, however, by and large, these stars are a minority. Most often the circle of poverty continues throughout generations. It's hard for a good man {or woman} to get ahead.

What we should want, not only as Belizeans, but as a species, is to be able to live in a sustainable society. We should procreate to the sufficient number that we can take care of all our young. That we can take care of all our citizens. We've evolved as a species to the point where one's "rights" are more important than economic or environmental issues. {Quote me on that one}

When God said, "Go forth and multiply in number", he didn't give a cap. I, for one, wish that he did. The world can sustain 1.5 billion people without permanently diminishing all our other natural resources.

It's hard for me to express all the variables on this controversial subject in just one blog. I think we should create a national population cap, then after our sustainable population has been achieved, financial penalize those who have more than the prescribed number of children. It is desperate, I know. And I pray that as a species we will never have to come to the point where this is the only course of action for our continued survival, but we're rapidly approaching this point. As a small nation, we shouldn't have to control our actions because of the excesses of the rest of the world. But as a species, we can't afford NOT to think about the global ramifications of our actions.

Sometimes I think AIDS, all these wars, the stronger hurricanes and typhoons, tsnumanis and earthquakes are all the Earth's way of screaming ENOUGH! Already 256,000 children die PER DAY as a direct result of poverty. That's almost the population of Belize! Be concious.

A Dependent Nation

Ever since the election and ushering in of the new GOB, I keep hearing calls into the radio stations and people in conversation saying G.O.B needs to do this, or needs to do that and I can't help but think that most of us just sit around and wait for our government to do things for us. It gets me upset really because of the lack of initiative from our people and the expectancy that things will be done for us and it really isn't up to us to do somethings for ourselves.

Yes, government is responsible for many things when it comes to the needs of the country but if we as a people believe that when we woke up to a U.D.P country, that our responsibility as Belizeans ended there, then we are in for a rude awakening.

To be Belizean is far more crucial than just casting our very important vote on election day. It should carry through to our daily lives and how we take pride in the matters surrounding us. How many of us are active in our communities to see things get better? How many of us are mentors to disillusioned youth? How many of us partake in town/city council meetings to address issues in your area or take up the challenge of making sure our voice is heard? So many times the forum or stages is there for us to be active participants in the decision making or at least given the opportunity to vent our thoughts and frustrations and while some of us do take advantage of that, most of us are content with watching the activities unfold. Even long after the situation has become dire we still find in ourselves the ability to bitch and moan about our crosses in life but have no motivation to do something about it. We scoff at the Chinese/Taiwanese community with their shanty stores on every street corner but don't have the discipline to sacrifice a generation for the betterment of those to come.

Pipple seh life haad out ya... I don't believe we know what a hard life is yet, sad to say. I feel that we are complaining now because we have so long gotten fat off the tits of goodwill and charity that now when these aspects have become lean, we cry for help and more handouts. We complain about gas prices and high electricity rates in the privacy of our living rooms and expect the media houses and NGO's to champion our cause in the public forum. We fear the reality of what is to come and cry out for our government to do something about it.

I don't think we have the guts (for want of a better word) to objectively look at our lifestyles and see how to change the dependency of the way we live so as to better the way we live. We want it easy and we want it now in this world of $600 prepaid phones and living beyond our means. The keeping up with the Jones' has us hooked on the dream of living the good life while not feeling the need to work for it. In a country where we are quick to borrow the cultures of the US, we fail to see what makes us Belizean and what opportunities lay right before us. Far too often do we seek the "wise" accented words of paler faces than our own to guide us in a direction that we ourselves know to take.

Gimme gimme is our motto, as irritating as the song it reminds me of. Many fingers can be pointed for this mindset but regardless as to who you think is to blame for how we got here... we are to blame for staying this way. Its is time we take pride in being a citizen of this country and realize that the very opportunity of being a Belizean also comes with some responsibility.

Break the cycle! Get involved with your community! Know what is going on in your government! Hold them and yourselves to the highest standard! Love Belize for the jewel everyone claims it to be and maybe, just maybe things can better for ourselves.