When I first glanced at this headline , I was thinking "Iraq" and wondering if this president was totally bonkers. The idea of encouraging babymaking in Iraq given the unstability of the country, which is summing up their current situation rather kindly I believe, certainly would be a hard sell.

At a second glance, I noticed that it was the President of Iran, not Iraq. Somehow, I still find it almost offensive that a president of a country feels obliged to announce to his countrymen (and women)to make more babies. Not that I have anything against babymaking by any means. I did make three myself with some help. I actually love babies, but somehow the thought of producing a baby to make my country stronger rankles me somewhat. Come to think of it, the article did say:

Ahmadinejad also said the West fears a high Iranian birthrate because other countries believe Iran "would eventually dominate them."

I know that is not what bothers me about his comment though. While it makes sense in a devastatingly poor country to encourage family planning, is it appropriate to encourage people to procreate to make their country more populated and a bigger threat to other nations? Countries have probably tried that before, right? Did it work? Is a country really stronger simply because it has more children no matter what the quality of life is like in that country?

I am not slamming Iran, or its president. I know little about either. He certainly is not the only President either who ventures opinions about this subject. I suppose it is just the whole idea of the debate about who is fit to procreate, or not, (and should or should not) who is fit to parent or not, (and should or should not)that steams me a bit. Throwing the government into the mix only further seems to muddy the issues involved in family planning.

In America in the 50's, 60's and 70's, dictated that if you got pregnant; you had a baby. However, you were not to parent unless you were married. Even today, many people feel adamnant that a child "deserves" a two parent family. Yet, unmarried women now get pregnant, give birth and parent often in this country now. Single people adopt. The pendulum seems to swing back and forth on these issues.

Worldwide, we have so many children with no homes. We have plenty of children here in the U.S. who need homes, yet our citizens cross oceans to adopt elsewhere. Many black babies in the U.S. are now being sent to Canada and being adopted. Africa has too many homeless children, and Americans are adopting some of them.

And then, there is Iran whose President wants more children? Is anyone else's head swimming over this? Have I confused you enough with these ramblings?