Wednesday, March 15, 2017

The Implosion of The Nuclear Family

                                                                   

"The Implosion of The Nuclear Family"

Linda Gordon is a feminist historian. For half a century now she has roamed the halls of academia, teaching America's youth that the nuclear family was the most destructive societal element ever conceived by man.


Gordon says that, for a society to advance, progressive leadership that demands a community based approach to raising children is essential. Gordon, and Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem and, yes, Hillary Clinton have been the pioneers for an advocacy approach that hails the school administrator and government agencies at all levels as being best at knowing what children need.

These women, and many like them, of both sexes, have succeeded spectacularly in the implosion of the nuclear family. Educational choices and disciplinary choices were the first to go. After around 1980 or so any parent who objected to the school curriculum was pretty well ostracized by the heavy hand of school administrators, with the heavy hand of government serving as "bouncer" ...to keep the troops in line. Child discipline followed soon after, the schools pairing with municipal and state agencies to criminalize spankings.

Once those first initial goals were achieved our liberal masters, at school, in the courts, and in the mayor's office, were able to push through mandatory sex education as early as first grade. Then came the assault on America's founding fathers and even our capitalist system.

Having achieved those secondary goals, our liberal masters have, for eight years now, began a grand exploration of "the fringe elements", celebration of homosexuality and the marvel of transgender self identification...taking the transgender issue to dizzying new heights in declaring that we humans are now made up of some 50 sundry and various sexual identities.

How far have we come in one short century? Let's examine that.

A hundred years ago the traditional American family was made up of Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother, and the harvest of children that followed. They all lived in the same household, all pulled together...for survival, and for the purpose of passing and honoring a family's legacy.

By the 70's America began seeing an explosion of senior homes, old folks homes...a place to dispose of our elders...because, let's face it, Granny and Grandpa ain't "with the times"...and just too damn much trouble.

Then, by century's turn, our progressive wonkheads had pretty much destroyed the last bastion of the family structure...the immediate family...the nuclear family of mom and dad and children. In books, in the media, Mom and Dad, who were once honored as matriarch and patriarch, began being the butt of jokes..punching bags, objects of ridicule, unnecessary taskmasters who had long outlived their societal value.

So, look about you, folks..and look at your own families. You can take all those big family reunion pics you'd like, or post on Facebook, pics of the grand Christmas get together...but, in your heart, if you've lived long enough, you know it isn't the same as before.

The "family" of 2017 is an informal and constantly changing amalgamation of those who you can tolerate, and those who can tolerate you....family groups linked not by blood, but what one thinks "is cool". Our society is now so fractured that we now pick our friends and loved ones based on similar political persuasions...and blood means nothing if it causes any of us one moment of discomfort or bother.

These days Grandpa and Grandma are dead....or at least should be....or at least shuffled off to an old folks home where they can't be seen or heard...cause they are so "uncool" they're embarrassing.

Mom and Pop? Well, there might still reside a trace of affection....but only if they make an appointment to visit...or leave a message in your voice mail...and you can find a moment or two to return the call.

So are we now better off with the nearly completed destruction of that nuclear family? To answer that you have to answer a few other questions. Are our schools performing as well as when Mom and Dad attended PTA meetings? How's your kid performing on those national achievement tests? (Will they ever achieve the same high scores of those of those kids in the 60's?) Are your neighborhoods a safer place now that society has relaxed the social rules and allowed everyone to just "be him or herself?" Are we a "kinder and gentler America?", or have we become more savage? Can you count on your children to be there for you? Or do you trust a neighbor more? Do your children feel safer today than we did in the 60's? Can you leave your windows open at night and not feel fear? Can you leave your house unlocked when you walk out the door? Do you feel more loved than that era when you lived within the nuclear family? If you can answer those questions in the affirmative then you'll just love the America of 2017. If you can't, you might begin asking yourself what went wrong...and what can I do to fix it.

Last week tens of thousands of women marched through the streets of America. They marched in triumph...for the glorification of those "50 transgender shades", for union teachers, for their liberal political icons, for open borders and unlimited immigration, for a celebration of "differences" and not what we have in common.

They deserve their march. In two short generations they have managed to destroy the nuclear family...and celebrate an "it takes a village" societal and political philosophy....even if the village is beginning to stink just a little.

14 comments:

Jerry Carlin said...

nobody ever considers the consequences of anything. For all the same reasons and events you list, we no longer cook. No one makes bread anymore and we would starve without the microwave. We eat quickly, never enjoying the process or conversation around a dining table. and our health deteriorates as we eat processed crap warmed up. We don't cook, we don't eat right, and we have totally lost the concept of conversation. and now, with Iphones we don't even LOOK at each other!

A Modest Scribler said...

Whew! I was surprised when I didn't see any comments on this one, Jerry. Other than Google's mangling of my paragraphing, I certainly thought this one was worthy of comment. Yes, I believe many of our problems would be less if we could sit down and talk over the dinner table. And stash the cell phones while doing it.

Frank R. Krzesowiak said...

I hate to bring him into this, because I know how you feel about him, but isn't this one the reasons(many) Trump was elected? America(real Americans, not the pseudo Americans the Left are)are tired of being "Lemminged" into a corner. And the riots and marches after the election proved us right. It's taken many long years for the Progressives/Liberals to get us to this point of Idiocy. And it could take a Trump only a few short years to undo all that work. No wonder they are fighting and scratching his election. Real America had, had i up to here.

A Colonel of Truth said...

Bravo!

Stella Brown said...

Would it be possible for me to have a copy of this? I am the president of a small community center in Sunizona, AZ. About 40 members of whom about 10 to 15 show up 1 time a month for a potluck meeting. Sometimes less.

Also the vice president of "The Cowbelles" of Douglas, AZ. (The first one) An organization ranchers wives started to educate people on beef production. Harder to do everyday. We are also called "The Cattlewomen". Some women thought Cowbelles was to old fashioned and they did not want to be the ranchers Belle. Nuf said.

I just want to share this with those that do not or won't read it. Cause I read it to them in or meetings. Love your articles.

Thank you
Stella

TheRandyGuy said...

Well said, but I have one fact you omitted. The rise of no-fault divorce in the 1960's was THE propelling event that led to the destruction of families. Prior to that, there had to be a concrete reason for one party to seek to dissolve a marriage (adultery, bigamy, mental cruelty, etc.). If there wasn't, the marriage was not ended. Feminists and psychologists teamed up int he 1960's to advance the notion that 1) It is sexist to deny women the ability to leave a marriage they no longer want, and 2) Children of divorce would be just fine - they'd suffer no ill effects from a divorce. This led to an explosion of divorce that continues to this day. We now know with absolute certainty that divorce is the worst thing a small child an endure, that it permanently affects their outlook on love and relationships (The same psychologists assure us that homosexual marriage will not affect the children of those relationships, too....).

A Modest Scribler said...

Stella, please feel free to use this as you like. And thanks for the kind words.

A Modest Scribler said...

Frank, I have no doubt that Trump's election is the result of great national frustration. I have my doubts that Trump is the answer but, as I've said many times, I'm wishing him luck. Thanks for the comment.

A Modest Scribler said...

Randy, I would have to dig deeper in your assertion that divorce has been destructive. It is no so much divorce that's doing us in but the government's massive encouragement of irresponsible breeding....either before or after a divorce. Before the gravy bowl got filled it was insane to breed more than you could support. Now that reckless breeding is rewarded by massive government handouts...from pre-school to college.

Jeff H said...

My whole working life I felt disappointed in myself for not finishing college. Now I have 3 years until retirement and can see I didn't miss anything. Probably turned out much better without the degree. Colleges today certainly are not worth the outrageous tuition they charge. But, one can't learn from the school of hard knocks anymore either, because everyone is special and gets a ribbon for participating, so no one benefits. Thanks for the great read as always!

A Modest Scribler said...

My pleasure, Jeff. I too am mourning the decline of our nation's universities, math and science wings excepted. Hard times are coming for those with basket weaving and "corruption of the white founding fathers" degrees.

Cindy said...

There is much truth in what you say. Your comment about shoving Mom & Dad into an old folks home hit a sore spot with me though. After Dad died, I brought Mom out here, 1500 miles from where she'd lived her life. It had to be, it was no longer safe for her to stay in her home.
I wrestled with bringing her to my home or putting her in a senior living apartment. I decided on the apartment for a couple of reasons: she needed to be around people far more than she would be at my house. The people need to be her own age, people who have experienced many of the same life events she has. She had no friends in this community and living with me would isolate her and that is bad for her mental health.
I found a very nice place that is two blocks from my house. She can walk to my house from her place, and did the first year. She can keep her dog and he has become the honorary mascot at her place. It has been hard for her as she had never lived on her own; her husband of 66 years was gone and so many changes! I was so afraid that she would feel that she had been dumped. My son and his family go over several mornings a week to make sure she takes her pills and she sees me at least once a day. Her sister commented about not being able to reach her on Sundays and Mom told her that it's "family day".
There are indeed many of the residents who moved to be close to their kids and never see them. But there are a lot of the residents who regularly see their families. Sometimes those places where we put our seniors aren't to hide them away, but a place where they can continue to live their lives in safety.

A Modest Scribler said...

Cindy, your comments clearly show how dangerous it is to generalize. It sounds like you have hit the sweet spot in the way you look after your mother. She is nearby, visited often and has the luxury of interacting with people her own age. In this particular blog the point I was making was about the relative refusal of people today to honor their elders, whether living in the household or not. My mom literally shuddered at the idea that anyone send her to a senior care home. This was the only thing that she strongly insisted on. Fortunately she was able to live and die at home. Be of good cheer.

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