Guarding over a generation’s future

Standing on guard for Canada is more than a line in a song to me. It is a lifestyle, a life calling, a mandate, as a citizen and as a Christian. As I see the unrest peaking in our present world, where questions are many and answers are few, I feel even more burdened for the next generation’s welfare and future.

Few generations have had to face what this generation has had to face. They are the smallest generation in history. They survived the pill and escaped abortion. They are survivors. They have been raised in the most sex dominated and disease ridden culture in modern history, and many of them have lost their childhood innocence.

My life as a baby boomer was a dream compared to the complexities of surviving in this world. I didn’t have all the distractions. We had one TV channel, and that was black and white. We had phones that we shared with people in the neighbourhood – we could tell when one was listening in. We didn’t have Internet: we had libraries.

Our schooling was not complicated: you listened to your teachers, or you wound up in the Principal’s office. There was a sense of law and order, respect for politicians, police and pastors, and everyone carried a sense of civic responsibility. You could walk the streets and feel safe. You knew your neighbours, and they knew you. We took care of each other.

Life without children?

I am now a grandfather. I did not realize how much I would enjoy playing a part in seeing the next generation emerge. My three little granddaughters and one little grandson have brought immense joy to my life. I don’t know what life in my latter 50’s would have looked like without them. Even now while I write, I can see their faces and hear their voices. Family is so important.

Recently I came upon a report entitled, “Life without Children,” and its thesis alarmed me. The study examined how a delay in parenting, a decline in births, and the devaluing of parenthood was making North America more self-centered and less child-centered. As a result, the 21st Century was transitioning from a “child-rearing” to a “child-free” generation.

“We are in the midst of a profound change in American life,” they stated. “Demographically, socially and culturally, [we are] shifting from a society of child-rearing families to a society of child-free adults. The percentage of households with children has declined from half of all households in 1960 to less than one-third today—the lowest percentage in the nation’s history.”

The latest statistics on Canada’s birth rate for 2009 was 10.28 births per 1,000 of our population. Our world ranking presently sits at 191st. Even China is replacing its present population at a faster rate, and is ranked above us at 150. That number translates into a failure of our Canadian society. We are losing our essential DNA slowly every year. We are at a tipping point in terms of culture. The critical mass for maintaining our distinctiveness is being lost.

The greying of Canada

It took one visit to my barber to realize that I am adding to the greying of Canada. I saw what appeared to be snowflakes falling from just above my head on to the floor, and realized that there was a whole lot more salt there than there was pepper. Soon I will be faced with a decision whether or not I make a draw on my Canadian Pension Plan (CPP).

Canada too has been greying, and quickly. In May 2010 the Demography Division of Statistics Canada (DDSC) predicted that the number of seniors will surpass the number of children aged 14 or under for the first time ever sometime between 2015 and 2021. Canada’s population will continue to age rapidly until 2031 when seniors will then account for 25% of the population.

Along with that dynamic of Canadian culture, 2000 became an historic benchmark for another stat: Canada recorded its lowest rate for fertility at 1.49 women per children. An August 2006 report revealed that Canada’s birth rate has continued to decline to a new record low of 10.5 live births for every 1,000 population in 2004 – down from 10.6 in 2003.