HOMESICK OR SICK OF HOME?

“Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. The family was the first successful peace group, the man and woman learning how to adjust their antagonisms while at the same time teaching the pursuits of peace to their children.” [UB 765:05]

Thought Adjuster: “As you read this statement about the contribution of the family unit to civilization, you cannot help but wonder ‘where are all the families gone?’ ‘What happened to them?’ Indeed, looking at what society is composed of in your so-called ‘civilized’ and ‘developed’ nations, makes you wonder if such cultures are as ‘successful’ as they brag to be.

“There is no shortage of statistics about the current family trends: “More than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock. 65 percent of these children live with neither of their parents… Fewerthan half (46 percent) of U.S. kids younger than 18 years of age are living in a home with two married heterosexual parents in their first marriage. This is a marked change from 1960 when 73 percent of children fit this description, and 1980, when 61 percent did…”

“A breakdown in the family values is undeniable as demonstrated by the fact that many of them are far from being ‘peaceful’. Many of their youngsters grow to exhibit rebellious and violent propensities and run away from home to join ‘gangs’—modern tribes of sorts that, for the most part, live in conflict with other social groups and disturb the peace.

“Indeed, family life has been and still can bean effective incubator for the acquisition of peace and its mastery. The mere fact that a man and a woman chose to cohabitate in spite of some of their divergent innate propensities can be considered as a daring gamble. As you well know, a successful cohabitation implies the ability to compromise and negotiate with one another—this being done with love and respect.

“As parents learn to maintain the peace in the home, they also play an important role in educating their children into becoming valuable peace-loving citizens.

“Isn’t it time to put the brakes on the dangerous tendencies that plague today’s families? They are meant to be the building blocks of society. Yet, many of these blocks are falling apart, being destroyed from within by the dysfunction of their members—just as cancerous cells spread over the limbs of a body.

“What does it take to restore family health? It takes the adherence to a set of sustainable values including those of love, respect, empathy, and compassion. No one would be driven to run away from such functional family units, as no one ever runs away from love and respect, as they are magnetic forces of attraction.”