Thursday, November 23, 2006

EYE ON THE FAMILY: A SERIES ON JUSTICE PART I

The Family - Birthplace of Justice


How strange we are. The really important things are simple. But, we make them complicated and we end up missing the boat. In the matter of law, we see injustices all around:

- justice is never on time

- lawyers get rich keeping fights alive

- lawbreakers getting away with it


We know that law is our bulwark against lawlessness. Yet we assume that justice is for someone else to do - like police, lawyers, courts, jails, etc. Very strange.

We know law is simple - there is right and wrong. When we do wrong, the law says so and we face consequences we don’t like.

So what can we do about justice? The answer - everything!

Where does justice come from? Where do we learn about right, wrong, rules, punishment, etc? Where else, but from home and parents?

No small portion of families with children suffering from attention disorder and asthma are families confused about the place and importance of law. That confusion inflicts unnecessary pain on their children. Watch for the Justice Series.

So, the family is the birthplace of justice. Respect for law is developed early in childhood. Disrespect for law is developed early in childhood.

Wow! What a job for the family. This means that parents have to:

- ensure the rules are clear

- act with justice - not spite or prejudice

- make consequences of law-breaking fair and opportunities to learn


So, the family needs to get a whole new vision of itself. Parents have homework to do. They need to understand and agree on the rules and consequences. They need to help each other keep level heads when faced with law-breaking. They need to have the starch to fulfill the law despite the mixture of feelings they have about each other, the family and themselves. And they need to apply law to themselves – the big lesson for kids.

Sounds like this job is so big that a family counselor would help a lot. Maybe family counselor or friend could help us find new, constructive, contributions to families and our society.

Click on the comments field below to add your views on THE FAMILY CHALLENGE.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

GETTING IT ALL TOGETHER - THE HOLISTIC FAMILY


The Family Crisis and What to do About It.

Our families face huge challenges. The money world drives most families without pity. The media promote ideas and experiences not helpful for our mental health. The school culture exposes our kids to smoking, drinking, drugs and sex. Our governments try to tell us how to solve our personal, medical and legal problems.

These huge forces fragment our families. Mom and Dad go out to work in different places. We live in single family dwellings - so relatives and friends live somewhere else. We travel in different cars, busses, with different people to different places. We shop on our own in big malls for stuff each thinks he needs. We are in different worlds with our own computers, cell phones, CDs and DVDs.

In the middle of all this confusion, the family and its relationships are supposed to provide us with our basic securities, belonging and support. The really scary facts of this picture are:

These huge forces do not have the family on their high priority list.
These huge forces are not going to lessen or become more friendly.
Our reliance on schools, churches, employers and governments has failed us.

So, how does our family get it together?

We are not without strengths:

-Our bonds of affection are powerful even when tested.

-Our family has roots in its own culture and values.

-We are the consumers that drive the economy.

-We are the voters politicians die for.

-We control media ratings.

-We have full responsibility for our children.


For our family to become holistic - together and helping - we must:

* Refresh and embed in our families, a new vision of purpose and values.

* Come together regularly to eat, talk, joke and pray.

* Redefine family leadership and member roles.

* Decide how family decisions are made.

* Rediscover family life by shared ideas and actions.

* Form family networks where they can share locally and on internet.


WE MUST STOP EXPECTING SOMEBODY ELSE TO MAKE THE FAMILY BETTER - ONLY THE FAMILY CAN DO THAT FOR ITSELF.


The mission of Eye on the Family is to encourage families to concentrate on themselves - their purposes, values and roles - and in this rise up to THE FAMILY CHALLENGE.

To aid families in this mission, we can go to www.newhopecovenants.org for guidance.

Let’s hear from you. To make your voice heard in THE FAMILY CHALLENGE, click on the "comment" field found below each blog to add your views.

Friday, November 03, 2006

THE FAMILY AND THE INTERNET


We’re in a revolution bigger than anyone realizes. Just notice how much technology is now part of daily life compared to a couple of years ago. According to experts like Ray Kurzweil (Author of The Age of Intelligent Machines), the rate of change in technology will keep speeding up.

Kurzweil predicts technology will completely change our work lives, our travel, our ways of thinking, our beliefs and our lifestyles. New cures will be found for deadly diseases and improvements are coming for our vision, hearing and other skills.

So where will that leave us and our families?

Technology now controls our travel, our money, our health care, our ideas, our work, our fun and our communication. Soon it will replace more of our thinking. What hope does the family have trying to understand or control technology - practically none. So there is little point in fighting technology - a waste of energy.

So, what’s left for families to do? Answer: a lot! We must select the right internet server, the right banking system, the right garage, the right health care and insurance plans. We have to do all this with a keen eye on security.

Our first line of defense is the internet itself. It knows all. We just need to ask the right questions. The limit on this is that we all don’t do it well, or we’re tired or we run out of time. We can use the on-line tech assistance and sometimes it helps. But, it takes time.

So, as technology leaves us farther behind, what else does the family do? Guess what? We have technology experts in our families. They are called our kids. They have cell phones and were born wired. Trying to monitor their cell phone use is impossible. But, recruiting them as the family techs changes all that.

We ask the kids to keep us to date. We ask their opinions on our big technology choices. We want them to make sure our use of information is secure.

And, there is another thing we can do. We share with other families our questions and our experiences. If we have an e-group, we can get instant feedback on today’s tech challenge.

What we do have to accept is, that now, everybody must spend more time on the computer.

This blog encourages families to develop e-groups among friends. It also suggests www.newhopecovenants.org to help make good decisions.

Join in the discussions, develop your own e-group, and have your chance to rise up to THE FAMILY CHALLENGE.