Today, the New York Times published a piece on the United States’ “plunging” birthrate. Nearly half of 30-year-old women are childless, up from 18% in 1976. The NYT cites academics who frame this as a “success story” because women in their 20s, who are “least likely to want, or be able to provide for a baby,” aren’t having kids anymore. Last year, Pirate Wires published an op-ed by @aikeho challenging the assumption that women don’t have kids because they don’t have the money or emotional support. Depopulation actually stems from our decaying culture. Over the last 30 years, American culture has framed kids as an inconvenience, and has taught millennial would-be parents that their lives should be “peaceful,” “centered,” and in their “control.” Here’s a quote from our piece: “I used to tell myself I was waiting until I was ready — financially, emotionally, logistically. But as my wife’s belly grows with our first child, I see it now for what it was, a myth. Readiness is just control, repackaged. We’ve been conditioned to believe big life decisions can be optimized. That chaos can be scheduled. Parenthood shatters that illusion. It doesn’t ask for perfection. It asks for courage. It demands something our frictionless culture has forgotten how to honor: sacrifice. Our generation has gone soft.” Read the full story in Pirate Wires 👇