Should We Let Them Die

I heard an advertisement on the wireless last night about how people can purchase one thousand injections as a gift for Christmas. It was through a Unicef program and the injections were for measles and other life threatening conditions that would effectively prolong the life span of the recipient children who would probably otherwise die. To some this seems like a truly noble idea and a far better use of money than the obligatory jocks n socks that will undoubtedly be passed off as gifts. I’m not so sure. If you look at it from a purely logical point of view, the planet is over populated and the strain on resources is already palpable and soon enough it’ll be a case of stop the planet somebody has to get off. To be brutally blunt, is it not the normal way of things that natural selection should dictate that these poor unfortunate children don’t make it to adulthood. On the one hand isn’t it great that mankind has reached a stage in our evolution where people in little old Ireland can stump up a few bob and safeguard the survival chances of children all over the world. On the other hand just because we can, should we? If these children don’t get help from abroad they may die, sad for the families, not so sad for the planet. The same logic could be applied to the goats and cows that Bothar send to Africa. If we didn’t send them those families may die. Sad for them, not so sad for the planet. I guess what I’m trying to get at is that if we keep saving everyone and if advances in medical science keep prolonging life, our planet will be pushed beyond coping and we’ll all die.

Should we let them die ... or am I being an eco-mentalist ??