Current Trends in Family
The family dynamic is
changing and it’s affecting the world drastically. In the past women would stay
home to keep house and raise the family while men would go to work in order to
provide for the family. In the early 1900’s the fertility rate was roughly 3.5 but
during the first and second world war it dropped drastically low, hovering just
above the replacement level which is 2.13 (which is needed to maintain a stable
population). After World War 2 a rejuvenation spirit spread throughout the
world which we now refer to as the Baby Boom. This was a time of prosperity and
hope in the United states having finished 2 world wars and the economy booming.
The fertility rate increased to 3.8 and babies were everywhere!
However, in the late 1960’s
a fear began to creep into the U.S about over population. It was inspired by
the book The Population Bomb by, Dr.
Paul R. Ehrlich which warned of the catastrophic consequences of overpopulating
our planet. He predicted that a worldwide famine, oil crisis, societal upheaval
and over pollution would occur in the 1970’s-1980’s. This caused a mass scare
throughout the United States encouraging people to stop having as many kids and
for some none at all. Shortly after the release of Dr. Ehrlich’s book the U.S
saw an immediate drop in fertility lowering it once again close to the replacement level. As of 2016, the United states
fertility rate is at a devastatingly low number of 1.8, which is less than the
amount required to maintain a stable population. This decrease in births was largely
due to the fact of acceptable use of contraception as a means for not having
children, women entering more into the work force, finances, convenience,
getting married at an older age and the idea that less children means that they
would have better opportunities.
The
Family: A Proclamation to the World is a document published
by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1995 to warn and counsel
families. It states:
“THE FIRST COMMANDMENT… for His children [is] to multiply and replenish the
earth… We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of
procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as
husband and wife…
HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for
each other and for their children…Parents have a sacred duty to rear their
children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual
needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the
commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live…Children
are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a
father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity…By divine
design, fathers are to
preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to
provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible
for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities,
fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other
circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should
lend support when needed.
WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who
abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will
one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration
of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the
calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government
everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the
family as the fundamental unit of society.”
The document was published 24 years ago
yet applies more today than it ever has before.
Today we see that women are having less children, that families are broken up
by either cohabitation, divorce, death and other unfortunate circumstances. More
women are entering the work force and putting off having children for their own
personal advancement in career or education. Children are a financial burden
which some feel they cannot take on. The list go’s on and on.
We
should be concerned with this shocking change in the family dynamic because it
is affecting other areas in our society. We see a shift in moral behavior,
where sexuality is deeply misguided and treated as “not a big deal”. Men and Women living together before marriage, casual
sexual hookups, non-committal relationships, etc. Financial pressures also put
a strain on having children. As adults we feel that it is hard enough to
support ourselves. How can we add another child in the mix? There is no perfect
answer or solution to this. The only thing that comes to mind is to trust and
to put your best foot forward. I think of my parents and wonder how they raised
seven children. They definitely did not have a lot of money for most of my child
hood yet I still had a happy experience. Had they thought of the financial
consequences of having seven children, as the sixth child I would definitely not
have been born. Birth control is meant to be a means to help regulate a woman’s
hormones so that she will not conceive a child. Having a child is a decision
between a man, his wife and God. However, instead it is being commonly
used as a means to promote sexual activity and prevent women
from having children. With the rise of contraception we also see the rise of
abortions. There are few rare cases where an abortion is acceptable but even then that is between a woman
and God. It’s the selfish
desire of putting our own wants and desires before others that creates this
negative outlook that children are of lesser value and inconsequential to our
plans. Each family is different and go’s through different trials- that
is simply a fact of life. As discussed in The Family: A Proclamation to the World some
families may need to adapt to fit their circumstances. Some mothers may need to
go to work to help support her family. Extended relatives may need to step in
and help should parents divorce or one of them die. Bad things happen to good
people, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop having families as a means to
circumvent these situations.
Often times families are what help us get through our trials in
life. They are a built in safe community to pick us up when we fall. One
of the benefits of having siblings is learning to share, be cooperative and to resolve
conflict; it prepares you to be a good member of society. As we see the family deteriorate around the world we see
that more people are left alone and that we have to work harder. Yes, we may
see on that in 1968 there were only 3.35 billion people on the Earth and as of 2017
there are now 7.53 billion. Dr. Ehrlich in 1968 thought that the world
was already over populated and would suffer dire consequences. Today we have
twice as many people on the Earth yet we are still thriving and the predictions
he made have not occurred. We see that there are more people on the Earth
because of technological advances which help us to live longer. However, even
with the technological advances we’ll soon see that we will not have enough
people in the future to sustain our population. At the current rate at which we
are going there are not enough people being born to support the aging
generation. In the 40’s-80’s, thirteen working citizens would be able to
support one retiree. However, with the current trends it has now changed to two
working citizens supporting 1 retiree. This means that our generation will need
to work harder, longer and smarter to support our parents and grandparents. Also,
with the way that the government is going many of them will not see much of the
social security money that they would have received.
Either
way you look at it whether we are overpopulated or underpopulated we can
quickly create a slippery slope scenario that will affect generations. The
important thing to remember is that the family is central to upholding civilizations.
As stated in the proclamation it is the responsibility of each nations citizens
and governments to uphold these standards.
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