Family and Society

[J.R. Brown]

What's more important, a traditional family accepted by society and defined as the only true family by the moral right, in which father goes to work and mother stays home with kids, but there is no love in that family or a non-traditional family built on love and trust.

Essentially I am asking if a having a traditional family defined by the norms of society and the Christian Coalition is more important than having a family no matter how strange it may be built on love and trust? Which is more important to you and why?

[J.R. Brown]

On the whole, traditional families are better than alternative families. 

Is every traditional family better than every alternative family?  No.  But on average, traditional families get better results.

I would agree with this, mainly just because traditional families just tend to have more stable environments. Stability is a very important factor in raising a child, and the reason many non-traditional family units gain their structure is because of some largely destabilizing factor.

You don't think love is more important than having a "traditional" family, and what makes you think that a traditional family creates a more stable children? There could be no love in a traditional family, and don't tell me traditional families are more loving.

[J.R. Brown]

dazzleman,

Overall I think we've identified our points of agreement and disagreement. Simply, society as a whole, including women, have benefitted from allowing women greater freedom and equality to pursue financial independence and contribute to society outside the home. Children have also benefitted through a bettering of their family's financial situation. While there are exceptions, such as the unfortunate single-parent home, I would argue that a type of feminism that tries to tie the number of parents to the theory is wrong, so we would be in agreement here. Mostly, the single parent home is a separate problem caused by lack of social capital. In addition, most variables of family success are determined by functionality and not structure. There are even successful single-parent families, so functionality, which is usually highlyed tied to SES status and contextual/educational quality of the parents, is the final variable here. Religiousity and strength of culture are also important.

With regard to families standing on their own, I see no problem to government aid to families, no matter what type, as long as it does not encourage breakdowns in functionality. For example, social security and medicaid have done a great deal of good. However I do not support government propping up single parenthood.

I'm not convinced that working mothers have improved family finances.  Two-income families have driven up the prices of expensive budget items like housing.  I'd also say that a minimal amount of parental attention is more important than a lot of material goods.  Kids today have too many material goods, and not enough positive attention from their parents.

I think that family functionality is tied to structure.  While there can be dysfunctionality with any structure, certain structures make functionality more difficult.

I think much of government "aid" to families has contributed to a breakdown in functionality.  In addition, I don't think we should encourage the formation of family units that can't stand on their own.  If everybody needs aid, who is going to provide it?  We sometimes punish people who do the right thing, in order to reward those who do not.  That is how most government programs work in practice, whatever their good intentions may be out the outset.

I think society needs a certain percentage of stay-at-home parents, who make contributions to society through the extra time that they have.  This includes volunteering in the community, doing work for the school, etc.  These parents often do the things that working parents don't have time to do, things that need to be done but are not economically rewarding and never can be.

Would it matter which spouse stays home? Do you believe that the actual structure of the family creates an environment in which love and trust are more easily attained? Also, do you think that different family structures work better for different personalities?

[J.R. Brown]

The worst abnormal two parent family type is one with gay parents, because the kid is screwed from the get go socially.

Yeah, because they are tortured by ignorant, narrow minded people such as yourself, who can't seem to get out of the 1950s.