What makes an expert mother? Is it to make her child a better human? Or is it to guide the child to become a better guardian for the human race? It is intriguing to bring in the question of cynicism here. The act of motherhood almost rings the Hippocrates oath, douched in the maternal expression of raising a superior. That’s ironically cynical, you read it right (twice). If humans are designed to make decisions for the betterment of the human race and society, is unnatural elimination a strategic part of human evolution? It is no longer the survival of the fittest alone. Instead, motherhood has gradually moved away from the certainty of hard science. Since the future is still unknown (last I checked), the past continues to eliminate what is redundant. Is Santa Claus redundant now? If Santa Claus were real, then what would you say about his upbringing? Santa’s mother would be the epitome of generosity and kindness, for Santa attempts (at least every once a year) to bring joy in everyone’s life no matter what kind of a person receives it. A 3-D manifestation of a sense of belongingness to shield humanity before it regrows from scratch. Even if it does, will a global reset be seen as an extension of maternal intelligence? If mothers are expected to be intrinsically equipped to adhere to the strictest interpretation of morality and philosophy, would it mean that an unerring humanity is a maternal byproduct? How much motherhood is enough? And if it isn’t, then do mothers repeat the morality lesson of “If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again?”. If there were a factory that made mothers, the first ingredient would be to value its race above all so long so they can survive on their own. Humans are no exception. Undeniably evolution has shaped many ideas and roles of what it means to be a mother. You will call your parents, ‘mother’ and ‘father’ individually. You don’t hear a kid saying “That’s my parent!”. You express differentiated behaviours respectively, that is an outcome of evolutionary confirmed acts. If humans were to be extinct, the conundrums will naturally be targetted at the mother, ethically and biologically. Can you see the wave when you are the water?
Cultural anxieties make one wonder the philosophical challenges parenthood faces given the future looks rather hair-raising. The dual side of creation vs extinction, creation vs classification, oddly even creation vs cynicism and maybe inconceivably, creation vs evolution. The good news is, there is no prize for getting answers quickly.
Shreya Pandey 