I’ve been thinking about this whole idea of children’s debt to their parents – the duty to care for them in old age, when they can no longer manage on their own. I’ve noticed that many people seem to think that by having grandchildren and raising them, they are somehow paying off the debt to their own parents. I really don’t get it… As if, in some metaphysical way, the energy they invest in their children and grandchildren spreads to the realm of the grandparents? That’s just nonsense. I don’t have children myself, and I believe we should take better care of the elderly than of children – because children have given you nothing, while your grandparents and parents gave you everything.
I’ve been thinking about this whole “when you grow up, you’ll be president” thing. But what’s even good about it? You’d have to decide who lives and who dies… How could anyone ever feel that he has the right to make such a choice? I mean, the worst a businessman can do is make an unpopular decision to downsize and replace people with AI, for example. But that’s not the same as deciding to start a war or ordering an execution for corruption.
New Year’s Eve (1984) by Russian artist Sergei Andriyaka
