FAMILY ENEMY NUMBER ONE


Family solidarity is our greatest treasure. It nurtures children’s well-being. It provides security for its members. It is our most reliable source of caring. It is with us when we are dying.

Fragmentation is the enemy of family solidarity. Inside and outside forces create splits. Relationships get shattered. Children become victims of neglect, abuse and addictions. All sorts of neurotic patterns get imbedded.

There are some clear community forces that promote family fragmentation. Here we list some in the interest of identifying “Family Enemy Number One”:

Phony Beliefs: We are offered an endless list of fixes for every possible life problem. Many of these have a money motive. Some are innocent. Others promote selfish and negative thinking. Few have stood the test of time. The number of choices is bewildering. Those without a firm belief easily become victims.

Debt: We have banks, financing schemes, reverse mortgages, etc. which makes us slaves to the dollar. Debt splits families by putting money first and sending members out on individual jobs. Debt distracts parents from their primary job of child nurturing.

Media: The right word for media is “Extreme”. The news, the entertainment and the ads keep pushing the extreme boundaries. In our fast age, their purpose is to get attention. Their impact is to sully our values giving us a coarse way of life. Children are helpless in the face of media information and glitz.

Rights: It is popular to support some “rights” efforts. This happens with enthusiasm without attention to the cost. Rights have to do with law. Laws mainly apply to individuals. However, when one individual’s rights are increased others are diminished. Among men, women, children and seniors in a family, when one gains new rights it is at the expense of the others and the family. For some strange reason the family is not seen as a legal entity and there are few family rights efforts. Who has a family view of rights?

Our purpose here is to ferret out “Family Enemy Number One”. In the process we get a clearer view of the powerful forces putting families on the ropes.

Tell us who you think is “Family Enemy Number One” in our endless battle to meet THE FAMILY CHALLENGE.