Importance of family

I was struck by the following, “The black family survived centuries of slavery and generations of Jim Crow, but it has disintegrated in the wake of the liberals’ expansion of the welfare state. Most black children grew up in homes with two parents during all that time, but most grow up with only one parent today.”  (This observation was written by Thomas Sowell in a piece titled Liberalism versus Blacks.)

Mr. Sowell's observation about the impact of welfare state expansion on families, one can argue, goes to a central aspect about the change in American society over the past three to four decades.  That is, the continuing dissolution of the centerpiece of society, the nuclear family (mother, father, children).  As liberals have pursued expansion of the welfare state, concurrently societal norms have been recast in their view.  

For example, bearing children out of wedlock no longer carries with it stigma.  It can be offered that very societal stigma, founded upon the sanctity of the nuclear family, helped contribute to relatively low rates of unwed mothers.  Yet, as the rate of unwed mothers, recast as "single parents" by the left, increases, so do the numbers on welfare rolls.  (And this is not limited to one racial or ethnic group.)

Another phenomenon is the apparent cheapening of the vows of marriage.  It seems to be in vogue to consider marriage as disposable as the car purchased a few years ago.  It is another element in fracturing the nuclear family that leaves its indelible mark in so many ways.  Once more, with the liberals in the lead, marriage vows and the obligation they convey, have been cheapened.  There was a stigma associated with being divorced in the past.  Today it is almost heralded by many, some citing having multiple marriages.  One result?  Fractured homes that fail to provide the children the nurturing environment and positive role models provided by the mother and father.  Too many children see horrible examples of interpersonal relationships and broken promises, growing up to sense this is the norm.  Too many children in "broken" homes being managed by "single parents."  How often, one may ask, do we hear of a serious crime in which the perpetrator comes from a "broken home?"  Absent the positive influence of and role models provided by the mother and father, children face significant challenges.   (By the way, to those who scream that this aid in necessary to "save the children," it is offered that it is the responsibility of the parents of the children to provide for them."  But the welfare state championed by the liberals fails to see the problem.  Instead, they continue to pursue policies attacking the nuclear family, actually providing government funded financial incentives to remain unmarried.  Policies do have consequences and the liberal welfare state costs more than just the billions being spent on welfare in its numerous variations.

Gay marriage is one such policy.  Simply stated, the role of marriage is for a man and woman to join in a legal and moral commitment to one another, part of which is the act of procreation.  Time will tell that "two mommies" and "two daddies," as espoused by the liberals as part of the welfare state, will induce even more problems for society.  The nuclear family is under assault and as Mr. Sowell aptly notes, the welfare state is a leading tool of the liberals in sustaining this attack.

Many of today's ills can be attributed to the growing dissolution of the nuclear family.

A nuclear family is the best foundation for raising children.  A nuclear family, into which the male and female join with a clear understanding of their obligations and the expectations of society for the relationship, forms the centerpiece of our society. With it, our children have the best opportunity for success.  With it, our nation clearly states that obligations are serious and working to overcome challenges is required.  

I'm proud to be a product of a nuclear family, the husband/father in a nuclear family, and a grandfather to a nuclear family.

I write a while back about being positive, rather than negative.  This piece may be read a negative, but it is actually positive, because it extols the value of the nuclear family.  Family remains the most important aspect of life, particularly since it is based upon choice for the husband-wife.  They choose to get married and undertake the most important personal relationship and obligation into which we willingly enter.

So let's continue to champion the nuclear family and see it as a bulwark against those forces that have insidiously attacked our societal values for these many decades.  Let's celebrate the nuclear family and advocate returning to it as the paragon of virtue and value within our great nation.