Lithuania Facesโ Demographic โCrisis, Speaker Warns of National Decline
A recentโฃ interview published by Respublika.lt features stark warnings about Lithuania’s declining birth rate โand its potential consequences for the โnation’s future. The speakerโ expresses deep โฃconcern over โคwhat they โperceive as a loss of national โฃidealism and a โprioritization of individual โgratificationโ over the continuation of Lithuanian culture and heritage.
The core argument centers on the โขdangerously โขlow fertility rate in Lithuania, currently atโ 1.03 childrenโข per โขwoman of reproductive age.This figure, the speaker โฃargues, signals an โ”inexorable approach” to the “finish of the Lithuanian nation,” leading to certain closures of schools, hospital โฃdepartments, and infrastructure. They contend that the focus on maintainingโ GDP through the “importing” ofโค foreign nationals โis aโ misguided solution โthat avoids addressing the root problem: a lack โฃof births among Lithuanians.
The โspeaker links the declining birth rate to a broader societal โขshiftโ awayโ from conventional values and a โloss of connection to the past. They lament the “evaporation” of idealism,โฃ which they see โฃasโ intrinsically linked to family andโข the spiritual dimension of โhuman life, โขembodied in children. This loss ofโข idealism, they claim, is exacerbated byโ a culture of consumerism that “washes away” memory and ancestralโฃ ties.
The interview also criticizes contemporary political trends, specifically referencing the “Freedom Party” as an example of prioritizing “individual enjoyment” over national well-being. Theโข speaker โฃfurther points โtoโ debates surrounding the definition โof “family” โwithin the Lithuanian Constitutional Court, suggesting โa โphilosophical detachmentโข from the traditional understanding of family as rooted in procreation.
Addressingโ potential counterarguments, the โspeaker โฃdismisses fearsโ ofโ imminent war asโฃ an excuse for not having children, citingโข examples of birthโ rate increases in conflict zones like Vietnam, Chechnya, and Israel.They also acknowledge the demographicโ shifts occurringโ in France, โwhere birth rates are being influenced byโ immigration, but emphasize that Lithuania โคcannot rely on broader Europeanโฃ trends for its survival.
Theโ speaker concludes with aโ passionate plea for a return to national pride and a renewed focus on supporting families with three or moreโค children. They urge Lithuanians to prioritize “Lithuania is here”โค over the concept of “Global Lithuania” andโค toโข recognize the โคimportance ofโ preserving their cultural heritageโฃ and ensuring the โcontinuation of the Lithuanian family line. โคThe interview โฃis accompanied by a photograph.
