Evolution. The theory that states that all living things are in a fight to survive, and that only the best genes get passed on. Why? Because they are the ones that are best at surviving. If they were no good at surviving, they would die out.

So what does this mean for us? Homo sapiens. Well it should mean that all we want to do is procreate, make babies, so that our genes can be passed on, and a bit of us can go into the next generation. We don’t though. We are more interested in other things, such as money, and “having fun”. A lot of people don’t have children these days, and some people even adopt. Adoption must be one of the strangest things we do as a race.

We take care of another child as if it is our own, despite it having none of our genes. This is not going to aid your survival! In terms of evolution, this is like suicide for your genes. No animal does this, unless they are tricked into thinking it is their own. Why would we do this?

The answer probably lies in the fact that we are no longer fighting to survive. We have formed a civilisation, and now protect the weak, do not leave them to die. What is important now, is not the genes of a person, but the traits. How nice they are, how outgoing, how giving, how hard-working. These have nothing to do with genes, these are all things that are picked up through life, especially in childhood.

Who we idolise as a child strongly moulds the sort of person we turn into. If we idolise a footballer, we are likely to be sporty. If we idolise an artist, we are likely to be creative, and so on and so forth. This has nothing to do with “genes”, or “natural talent”, it is what we work to be before we even realise.

So what does this have to do with evolution, and the title “I want to be passed on” ? Well, evolution of the human race no longer involves spreading our genes. To evolve as a species, we would have to do unspeakable things, such demonstrated in the holocaust. It is not possible for an organism to choose the future of their species, or in other words “No person can choose mankind’s future.” If we are to evolve, it will be due to global warming. Those who are strongly affected by the heat will die out. It is an unfortunate but undeniable truth. Natural selection is done by nature, not people.

So if we do not need to evolve, or are not going to evolve, genetically, how are we going to be passed on? Through our traits. If you work hard your whole life, and become someone respectable, others will follow how you have lived your life, regardless of whether they are your children or not. The time has now come, where you can be passed on, without having children.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t have children, how else would we survive as a race? Also, your children are going to be influenced much more easily by you, as they live with you. The point of this article is to say you don’t need children to have your traits passed on. All you need, is for your traits to be worth passing on.