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Fur Babies

I’m gonna get a lot of email about this commentary, so let me say this up front: I like animals. And pets are wonderful things. But. . . .


In her 1992 novel, “The Children of Men,” P. D. James told the story of a world where it has been 25 years since the last child was born. In this dying world, kittens and puppies are pushed around in prams and receive the treatment previously afforded to human infants.

Twenty-five years later, it seems that life is imitating art, though in James’s novel, childlessness was the result of a mysterious and catastrophic collapse in male fertility. Today, it’s the result of people’s choices. But in both James’ dystopia and today’s celebration of personal autonomy, the result is the same: Animals have become substitutes for actual children.

This substitution was the subject of a recent article by Bradley Mattes of the Life Issues Institute. In it, Mattes told readers that “according to government statistics, an increasing number of women from the millennial generation are opting out when it comes to having babies.”

“Instead,” Mattes continues, “it appears they’re finding an alternative more to their liking.” That “alternative” is what might be called “pet parenthood” and its substitute progeny, “fur babies.”

What’s more, many millennials are approaching pet ownership the way previous generations approached first-time parenthood: preparing “for their impending bundle of joy by reading books and consuming other available research.”

Now the obvious question is “Why?” Several people Mattes quotes help us answer that question. One thirty-year-old told the New York Post that “It’s just less work and, honestly, I have more time to go out.”

Another thirty-year-old, writing in Charlotte Magazine, wrote about how she went from wanting to be a stay-at-home mom to a pet parent. In her words, pets “give us a greater purpose without making our lives mainly about theirs.”

While there is something “stunning” about such “self-centered transparency,” as Mattes put it, we shouldn’t be surprised. It’s the logical outcome of the triumph of personal autonomy in the West. We exist for our own benefit and pleasure, as do our children and our pets.

Whereas having children was historically thought of an as act of obedience to a divine command, an obligation we owed past and future generations, today it’s an act of self-fulfillment. Children are now a means to an end, not ends in and of themselves.

For many, having a child is just another bucket-list item; something we do (or don’t do) to “complete” our lives, preferably after we’ve experienced the other things we believe make for a “complete” life, like a successful career and travel, etc.

The problem with this idea is, with kids, the “feel good” phase passes pretty quickly, and is replaced by a long, hard slog of raising them with all the sacrifice that entails. If you get struck by the travel bug, you just can’t board your kids at a local kennel.

Now if you’re a Christian, this shouldn’t be a problem. We get—or at least we should get—concepts like “obligation” and “self-sacrifice” and “self-giving.” But if what matters most are our “needs” and desires, pets can sound like a preferable alternative to children.

After all, as one person quoted by Mattes put it, “Who needs children when research has shown that certain hormones that increase when we cuddle children also increase when we cuddle our pets?”

So get your fix of oxytocin, the “cuddle hormone,” and you still get to live however you want. What’s the problem with that?

The problem is there’s literally no future in a world of “fur babies.” The England of James’ novel is a hopeless dystopia, not a paradise. As the principle character writes in his diary, “without the hope of posterity, for our race if not for ourselves, without the assurance that we being dead yet live, all pleasures of the mind and senses sometimes seem to me no more than pathetic and crumbling defenses shored up against our ruins.”

This is where the enshrinement of autonomy and self-fulfillment will take us as a culture. It’s a dead, loveless end. And no amount of oxytocin or fur can change that fact.

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Fur Babies: Pets, Children, and the Triumph of Autonomy

Children are a gift from God. For information on the joys and responsibilities of having and raising children, check out the resources listed below.

RESOURCES
 
Many Millennials Choosing ‘Puppy Parenthood’
Bradley Mattes | Life Issues Institute | February 8, 2017
 
The eyes have it: Why we bond with our dogs like our babies
Meghan Holohan | Today.com | July 29, 2016
 
Life's Value
Alan Jacobs | First Things | August 1993
 
Sacred Parenting: How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls
Gary L. Thomas | Zondervan Publishing Company | April 2005
 

Creation date: Feb 20, 2017 2:00pm     Last modified date: Feb 20, 2017 2:01pm   Last visit date: Mar 27, 2024 8:54am
2 / 1000 comments
Feb 20, 2017  ( 1 comment )  
2/20/2017
5:02pm
Marie Carr (nanarie)

Human babies are adorable! Watching them grow and develop is a wonderful experience! Yes, they are quite a bit of work but the rewards far outnumber the annoyances.

Feb 28, 2017  ( 1 comment )  
2/28/2017
7:06am
Julie Carr (beekielou)

Having children and raising them is a huge blessing with all the adventures and trials they bring, as children opens doors to experiences that come with having a family.. It is a great opportunity to grow and evolve as a person of faith, as well as enjoying little people, nurturing them and helping them to grow up. 

 

The purpose of pets is a different one. They can help people heal from life traumas like war, bad experiences in life, and provide companionship to people who are alone or for couple don't feel ready in having a child.

 

 Some see having a pet as a trial run to becoming a parent. Many young people these days have come from broken homes, and see marriage as something that is hard to do.  Many have suffered from divorce situations themselves as children.  Many believe that they have to be able to support themselves in case a relationship fails, which means that they have to develop a way to make a living.  It is hard to live on one income, so usually both people in a marriage have jobs. I can see how having a pet is more manageable to them.  Many wait later to have children, when they feel secure in their relationship and secure in their financial state.

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