Domenic, I assume that you have noticed that your treatise on the moral necessity of universal reproduction has not convinced very many of your readers. May I suggest a somewhat different perspective?

I agree your analysis of the benefits of child-rearing. But this should not be an across-the-board expectation of everyone. Parental instincts have not been evenly distributed across the population … I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a father, and I achieved that goal. The teen years were damned difficult, but my paternal instincts were strong and I hung in there. Today, my son and I have a loving and respectful relationship, and my grandchildren have keft home and are beginning their journeys into adulthood. Had I just had a child out of obligation, and had my paternal instincts been week or nonexistent, I donʻt think things would have turned out as well.

Individuals with strong parentsl instincts should have children by all means, and need not apologize for doing so. Individuals without such instincts should enjoy their child-free lives without guilt. In other words, we should all play to our own strengths.