As the Family Goes, So Goes Society

Between mid-terms and side stories, what should have been a four part series has stretched long beyond its original timeline; so, here is the fourth and final article on childhood and society.

I have to admit; I never stopped and thought about my childhood. I never thought about how I grew up in a radically different world than my parents, not to mention my grandparents. Reading Anthony Esolen’s Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child set me on a path of observing things in a different light. In my previous three articles  in this series, I hint at some potential issues with society and the way children are raised. But let’s be honest here, is society the real issue?

Of course not! We have watched the family fail. Or have we failed the family? I think it is the latter. We approach marriage as a contract based on mutual consent (that can be unceremoniously broken), children are an optional part of marriage, no-fault divorce is simple as changing health insurance plans, and sexualized culture debases the meaning, sanctity, and purpose of spiritual union. Even if we don’t agree with this view of the family, it still can alter our perceptions and our actions. Much like nuclear radiation, being near the sludge can and will alter us against our will. Which makes out job even more important, and more difficult. We must be vigilant in resisting the ethos of the age.

We must reclaim childhood. And ithas to start with us young conservatives. We need to put forth an unabashed defense of tradition. So here’s to the moral imagination, to the youth, and to our successors. We have a lot ahead of us, but we can fight this, we at least have to try.