Family Values

"What is happening to our country right now is not good. Strong families are needed at the core of us - all of us..."

This is going to be a tough one. It is a tough one to write. But it is something I need to get off my chest. What in the world is happening to our American family? I know, I know. Every time I bring this up in a conversation, I am met with a term I am growing to really dislike - we now have more "non-traditional families". Well last week we saw how a "non-traditional family" can end very poorly.

A single mother with three young children just moved here from Chicago. Why? She wanted to find a better life. First point - if you want a better life, you don't have a child out of wedlock with no hope of support from the sperm donor. And if you really want to be poor, keep having kid after kid. Again, with no support from any sperm donor. 

Mother gets a house here (with no money), and gets the kids in the "system". Then a tragedy strikes. The house catches fire, and all three very young children die. And where was mom? Not at home when the fire started. In fact fire investigators noticed the smell of alcohol on her breath when they got here. No dad in the picture and mom wanted a night out to go honky tonking. Net result - a grim scene.

Here is the bottom line. Today, like no other time in our history, birth control for both males and females are being handed out like candy. If you are unable to find affordable protection, you must be deaf, dumb and blind. However, should you find yourself pregnant, adoption services are all over the place. And free adoption counseling is available to all. To have a kid when you have no money and no spouse is nuts - absolutely nuts.

By allowing this baby machine to continue in our society is not doing anyone any good. It is not doing the mothers any good. And people who are a whole lot smarter than I have said this path is the fastest ticket into poverty. It is not doing the kid(s) any good as studies have shown time and time again, a two parent home (sorry PC fans - that is Mother and Father) is best for kids. 

It is hard to raise kids. Always has been. We raised two girls and it had its moments. It also took the two of us. Sharing and caring together. Now we have a grandson. And again I can see how hard it is to raise a child. Sometimes it takes his mom, dad AND grandparents!

Somebody asked me last year what it would take to fix America. My response was simple - first we need to fix the families. For if we no longer have family values, our national values will be hurt also. Today, I stick with that answer. Fix the families. Now.