A Disaster You Can't See all Day

Ladies and gentlemen,

Commentators outdo themselves in alarmist headlines: "unprecedented situation", "dramatic breakdown", "catastrophe".

What are you talking about? No, no war, no disaster.

It's a disaster you can't see on the streets. Literally, you can't see.

There's little and little baby carts on them. In the settlements, more and more deserted playgrounds and fields. Closed schools that no 1 else can go to.

251,8 1000 – so many children were born in Poland last year.

Demographers describe this data as unprecedented, due to the fact that no 1 predicted specified a crucial decline until a fewer years ago.

In 2022, UN experts estimated that in Poland the fertility rate would fall to 1.12 only in 2055. Meanwhile, it happened... 31 years earlier. This level was recorded in Poland last year.

On the 1 hand, researchers are now trying to find an answer to the question: why are the results so disastrous? Why do Poles not want children? And what can we do to reverse this destructive trend? Is that even possible?

But frankly, I don't think that should surprise us.

Can we anticipate something else in a country where the media almost all day flood their audience with titles specified as: “I dreamed of having a baby, but now I hatred being a mother,” “Don’t decide to have a child. I regret having them” or “No 1 told me that motherhood is specified a nightmare”, from the cover of the top magazine for women grin 3 celebrated abortionists announcing that ‘The abortion is ok’, And large brands produce full advertising campaigns based on praising childlessness by choice?

And of course, the causes of low fertility are much more, and many of them are even more important.

However, the way household is portrayed in culture and media has a key influence: it is this origin that allows to form social attitudes – both a family-friendly or a parent-friendly attitude, as well as the opposite, an attitude of voluntary childlessness. So it is media communications that have the chance to build the essential base for young people to want to start families in general.

But they besides have the other power: to destruct the image of the family, to introduce negative patterns, and to soak into the minds of young people the venom of selfishness.

Therefore, the pro-family and pro-parent attitude of the media must be a key area of change if we do not want Poland as we know it to vanish forever.

You might think that's bullshit now. After all, no 1 who wants to have children will quit parenting just due to the fact that he read an unfriendly article.

But what if specified a negative image of motherhood or paternity is consistently received for years? If it comes from all sides, without giving a better chance to know another image of the world?

That is precisely what is happening today!

Media – both traditional, as well as tv and the press, as well as the net – have been trying to influence young people's parental decisions in a reasonably unambiguous way for years. Just mention the titles mentioned above.

And believe me, there's no request to even look for specified content, and I could quote tens more.

Such a message, whether we want it or not, frequently hits the susceptible dirt of an increasingly broken society, cultivating a culture of individualism.

Being a mom or a dad present appears to many young people as “the end of life” or “the end of freedom”. A kid sees it as a barrier to his development: whether it's the way to his dream career or preventing his dream from being realized.

It is rich in mainstream media to look for the kid as a gift, and parenting as a way of fulfillment and joy.

Changing this is evidently a immense challenge!

But I believe that erstwhile we take them, we can fight for a change of mentality, essential to reverse the catastrophic trends associated with childhood.

That is why I took part in the debate on fertility on PCH24 in late September. Together with another guests – editor Paweł Chmielewski, doctor Marcin Kędzierski and editor Tomasz Wróblewski – I had the chance to talk about why so fewer children are born in Poland and what actions could improve this situation (link below).

Despite different approaches to many aspects of this complex topic, we have been able to item many areas that are frequently overlooked or underestimated in akin discussions.

The factors affecting children are not only social benefits or housing (although they were not missing in our conversation). It is besides a problem of the disintegration of the community and of changing the structure of the family, or even the issue of the Church's approach to the problem of parenting.

But considering the causes is not all. Equally crucial is the promotion of truly effective and beneficial solutions for families.

Unfortunately, the current government frequently shoots itself in the ft erstwhile it comes to household policy. More crucial are ideological demands.

Changes in education led by left-wing minister, which will form children and young people for progressive prayer, will not pass on the value of household and inseparable marriage. They can't teach you to build a lasting, lifelong relationship.

Introduction of partnershipswhich in the long word will contribute to an even greater demolition of the matrimony institution.

Promoting abortion on demand, alternatively of a liable approach to parenthood and designation of the subjectivity and dignity of life from conception.

This is simply a simple way to deepen the fertility crisis! The unsettling and insanely shortsighted approach of the rulers only accelerates the complete breakdown of the social system.

It is fundamental for the recovery of fertility rates to make a feeling in young people that having a household is the best way to individual happiness, and children are a gift, not a burden beyond strength!

As long as parenthood is presented to them as a decision they will regret, we cannot dream that the fertility rate will even decision up.

Experts point out clearly: we must rebuild the social prestige of the family! To make entering a lasting, lifelong relation and birth of a fewer children cease to be seen as a lifelong failure, boredom, or “sacrifice” and become the goal and dream of subsequent generations.

The media pro-family offensive will have no importance here.

Therefore, in the Center for Life and household for years we have been initiating activities that build a affirmative image of family, matrimony and parenthood, while trying to scope out to a wide scope of recipients.

These actions are on the 1 hand Marches for Life and Family, which pass through respective twelve cities in Poland and abroad all year.

Let me remind you – 2 years ago, in 2023, we adopted the call to care for the childhood: “Children of the future of Poland”. Although there was inactive much to rise at that time, which is now accompanied by this subject, we have warned that peaking indicators require urgent intervention.

On the another hand is besides our direct presence in the media, during debates, conferences or discussion panels.

Sometimes these are hard clashes, 1 in one, conversations that could actually be defined as an effort to shout out the enemy. What is significant, in this case the subject is usually the same – abortion. Word attacks from abortionists are repeated decently at all direct meeting.

Fortunately, however, this is more frequently a substantive discussion and clashes at most on arguments. However, regardless of the nature and course of these speeches, it is always crucial for us to have a clear message for life, matrimony and household in our speeches.

We besides usage social media effectively in our activities. How crucial this sphere is, I do not gotta explain: investigation shows that present more than 40% of Poles are getting information from digital media, and young people are leading here.

Our activity in social media thus gives large opportunities to scope those who most request a message about the value of life and family. It is about them that the most fierce fight is fought by leftist environments, trying to get religion out of schools, and in its place introducing an highly ideologicalized sexual education hidden under the coat. Social media, which young people and young adults usage most, is frequently the only platform for the transmission of content that undermines the false and depraved image of the planet that instills in them all day.

And in this field, the Life and household Center is simply a crucial player. Just mention that on 1 of the largest social networking sites, Facebook, the CJiR profile has over 66,000 followers, which is more than six times our British counterpart, March For Life UK.

The request for content related to the defence of the dignity of life from conception, marriage, and household is so great. However, media activities besides absorb crucial resources. For example, reaching 130 000 audiences through social media costs us respective 1000 zlotys.

We see a increasing request to increase our engagement in this field. The request to supply both information, to discuss, to argue with the unconvinced is becoming even more urgent today.

Meritorical voices standing in the media side of values are inactive not enough. Not adequate for this message to break into a wider audience to convince those who are even flooded with left-wing communicative all day.

Let me yet share my individual memory with you.

A fewer years ago, walking around his hometown with my husband, we went to the vicinity of the school he went to as a child. Everything looked simple: the quiet area, the same building, has been unchanged for years. Only erstwhile we got closer did we announcement that something had changed. There was no school at this place anymore, but... a retirement home.

We are assured that 2024 will be recorded in terms of fertility on black pages of past – the number of births recorded is not only the lowest after planet War II, but besides the lowest in 200 years in the full area of the present Polish lands.

So while we have warned a fewer years ago that Poland is facing a demographic disaster, present we can simply say: this disaster is already happening in front of us.

And this is most likely just the beginning – the effects of these destructive processes are only beginning to be visible.

However, if we want to have at least a chance to reverse this process, we request to act now. For if nothing changes, no of us want to see.

Aleksandra Gajek

Center for Life and Family

The debate I mentioned earlier can be viewed right here.which I warmly encourage you to do!