How do you think that "if you don't have children, you don't have a weakness"?
Not long ago, I wrote an article entitled "The Anti-Fertility Concept Prevails with Low Fertility", which analyzes two anti-fertility concepts: one is that "the poor should not have children", and the other is "overpopulation" and "our grandparents have too many children". Of course, there are not only these two anti-fertility concepts, but this article will analyze another anti-fertility concept: "If you don't have children, you don't have a soft underbelly." (Here are two screenshots)
How do you think that "if you don't have children, you don't have a weakness"? Let me illustrate it with an analogy:
Instead of going to the doctor for treatment, a man had a sore on his left hand and called it "a strong man's broken wrist". Of course, after the left palm is cut off, the sores are also removed, but if there is another sore on his right palm in the future, will he also have to cut off the right palm? Furthermore, if he also has a sore on his foot in the future, will he also have to cut off the foot? It can be seen that this logic is absurd.
For example, for some people, work is the means by which they live, and their work is their "weakness." For the vast majority of people, a person's body is the "soft underbelly" of the person. Therefore, Lao Tzu says, "I have a great disease, because I have a body, and I have no body, what is my trouble?" means that the reason why I have a disaster is because I have a body, and if I don't have a body, what disaster will I have?
Everyone lives in the world and has various "weaknesses" to a greater or lesser extent. A rational person should not expect that he "has no weakness", but should strive to protect the "weakness" of himself and his family from being violated.
In the real world, everyone will face many problems and encounter many difficulties. How to face these problems and how to solve these difficulties? Different people have different ways of thinking, and therefore have different views and attitudes. Many years ago, I read the following two stories:
One story is that an old lady has two daughters who are both in business, the eldest daughter sells fans and the younger daughter sells umbrellas. When the weather is fine, the old lady worries about her younger daughter and worries that the umbrella will not sell, and when the weather is cloudy, the old lady worries about the eldest daughter and worries that the fan will not be sold. As a result, the old lady's life was very melancholy. The neighbor asked her why she was always sad. The old lady explained the situation. The neighbor smiled and said, "Old lady, you are so blessed! When the weather is fine, your eldest daughter's business is very good, and when the weather is cloudy, your younger daughter's business is prosperous." When the old lady heard this, she suddenly brightened up, and turned her worries into joy.
Another story is that two shoe salesmen, A and B, arrive on an island and find that none of the inhabitants of the island wear shoes. Salesman A called the headquarters and said, "There is no one wearing shoes here, there is no market, I have come in vain, and I am ready to return." Later, Salesman A gave up his plan to sell shoes on this island and returned in vain; Salesman B explained the benefits of wearing shoes through demonstrations and publicity, and finally opened up a big market.
According to the "people-oriented" way of thinking, solve any problems without thinking about "minus people" first. The way of thinking that "if you don't have children, you won't have a soft underbelly", that "no one will have these problems", which is the same way of thinking about family planning in the past. According to this "material-oriented" way of thinking:
What if we don't have enough food to eat? Isn't it enough to eat by reducing the population?
What if there is not enough housing? Isn't it enough to reduce the population?
What if we don't have enough energy? Isn't it enough to reduce the population?
What should I do if my shoes are too small? Wouldn't I be able to wear them if I cut them smaller?
……
I believe that having children or not is the right and freedom of every person (or family). If a person does not want to have children, he does not need to explain any reasons to others, and others have no right to blame. But if you don't have children, you have to find some plausible reasons, and there is a possibility of misleading others, then I think it is necessary to comment.