In the midst of the West’s demographic crisis, the invisible hand of the crazy algorithm bombards impressionable young minds with the alleged ‘benefits’ of a life without children, an emotional digital tribute to Herod, exposing thousands of ‘success stories’ of boyfriends or married couples who claim to be immensely happy because, having no offspring, they can devote all their income to travel, shopping, going out with friends, renovating the house, and other inconsequential activities. And, above all, they can devote their free time to themselves, since they are liberated from the terrible burden (this is how they talk) of taking the child to extracurricular activities, medical check-ups, or attending the odious parents’ meetings—the only aspect of their case, I must say, to which I am somewhat sympathetic.
If TikTok were not a social control mechanism managed by the black soul of the Chinese Communist Party, we could still believe that the proliferation of DINK (double income, no kids) culture reflects an authentic social reality, that it has become an indisputable trend in an organic, non-astroturfed way, spurred by the number of adherents to that way of life who suddenly feel the need to share with other users the extent of their immense happiness without children. But then we would also have to believe that the disproportionate invasion of ‘trans’ promotional content on Instagram and TikTok is also a natural consequence of extrapolating what’s on the streets to social networks. But never has media and entertainment been employed like this: they have always been used to shape society, to disfigure and change it, rather than to reflect it. Just think of the film industry, literature, television franchises, music. The quotas of ‘diverse’ characters in Disney’s current output, for example, reflect nothing in our culture other than a deliberate policy of social transformation, as the company’s own employees, immersed in their own particular ‘go woke go broke’ career, have acknowledged.
Another Unnatural Plan
Perhaps the most characteristic feature of 21st century man is his determination to fight against nature. Progressive activists pride themselves on breaking antiquated moral norms, but the truth is that they are only fighting against the natural order and their proper place in it. In both animals and humans, the sexual drive to come together and reproduce has as its main objective the maintenance of the species. If it were up to the DINKS, the human being would become extinct, as in that wonderful song by Siniestro Total: “Smile when you go to fossilize / so they don’t think later that you’ve had a bad time / Try to become extinct with class and dignity / Think of the Natural History Museum.”
Of course, not everyone is born to be a father, but the renunciation of fatherhood is something exceptional, conjunctural, personal. There is usually a good reason behind it, or even an unavoidable circumstance that one has not even chosen, and in any case, it is no ground for pride, nor of course for shame. But the DINK cosmos does not bet on anything positive. There is no larger noble goal or pursuit. Hedonism may sometimes be fun, but it is not an end in life, unless you are committed to living a proudly sad and miserable one.
Lacking a goal to pursue that they can boast about, DINKs focus their proselytizing on hatred of their parents’ way of life. The effectiveness of their message, and the popularity of the phenomenon, is explained by the TikTok audience. Ultimately, the DINK message resonates perfectly with people who are not yet ready for parenthood. That call of nature does not usually appear at the age of 18, but a little later, which is when one begins to think for the first time that one could die any day and that, short of children, all one is going to take to the grave is an immense succession of empty hangovers. This is from the masculine point of view, From the feminine point of view, a certain longing for motherhood naturally arises from the woman’s bundle of instincts. As such, when a man tries to run away unhealthily from fatherhood, it is women who are best placed to inject some common sense into proceedings. If all reproduction hinged upon the whims of men, perhaps we would have become extinct by the Stone Age.
Be that as it may, fighting against nature is a lousy idea, not least because sooner or later nature will exact her revenge—and often in a quite painful way. If what they seek is happiness, they may not know it, but by prioritizing their selfishness over the most elementary needs of their nature, they stand to obtain nothing but a spectacular vital failure. A diagnosis of the immediate future: DINK, give yourself a few years, and you will find yourself contending with all you were not looking for—unhappiness, boredom, depression, and the feeling of having thrown your life overboard. And the worst thing: often, when you realize it, there will be no turning back.
In truth, there is absolutely nothing on this earth comparable to parenthood. You don’t know what it is until you live it. All opinions on the matter from non-parents lack no more credible basis than my own hunches as to how the clam feels when it bubbles amidst the rice and opens up.
They Are Very Happy
It’s no secret. If you want to find someone unhappy, always look among those who boast of being very happy on social networks. Just as, if you want to find someone with relationship problems, always look among those who constantly boast of infinite love on social networks. It is not a discovery of the digital era either, but finds expression in the very old Spanish proverb: tell me what you boast about and I will tell you what you lack.
The denizens of DINK culture count themselves happy for living in constant homage to their own selves. In doing so, they miss one of life’s paradoxes: it is in selfishness that we are most solidly guaranteed unhappiness. What Christianity brought into the world is a way of salvation for the soul in eternity, but also a masterly formula for secular happiness: think a little more of others and a little less of yourself.
One of the top DINK influencers, John Eringman, tells his millions of followers on TikTok: “We are DINKS, we sleep a full 8 hours and sometimes more. We are DINKS, we eat desserts and snacks at restaurants. We are DINKS, we get to play with other kids. We are DINKS, we still do it 3 times a week.” Everything is wrong with his statement. First, parents also sleep a full eight hours and sometimes more. But most of all: what kind of happy life do you have if sleep is a goal? Sleep is a necessity, sometimes a pleasure, but never a goal. Normal people dream of having such enriched days that sleep comes to be seen at best, as a chore-like necessity.
The whole thing about desserts and appetizers in restaurants has left me flabbergasted. What on earth does Mr. Eringman think parents are doing? Giving up dessert? Is he aware that most children could be moved to eat their own father alive in front of the entire restaurant if they are denied dessert?
In the illusion of playing with other children, one discovers the crux of this farce: at the height of the selfishness and sleaze of this approach, Mr. Eringman uses the children who eventually fall near him to try to assuage his most basic emotional needs, just as others fill that need with a dog or a cat.
However, we reach the pinnacle in his heroic confession that, thanks to not having children, he gets to go to bed with his girl three times a week. How do I explain it to you, Eringman? Where on earth do you think the children of couples who have decided to become parents come from? Do you think marriages reproduce by spores? And, by the way, not to take away your DINK Pride high: three times a week is not an enviable average.
