ididnotnothat
10-18-2004, 11:13 AM
Traditional family values. Defined?
Individuals, many of them politicians and religious leaders, throw around the phrase ‘Traditional family values’, but never define exactly what they mean. Well, let’s give it a try. First of all, what traditions, whose family, whose values and at what point in history are these traditions rooted?
Family. Whose family? It sure isn’t my family. My grandfather had what I though was a very sane approach to life. ‘Do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt someone’. Now obviously this is meant to be more in the area of physical pain and depravation. It isn’t possible never to hurt someone’s feelings, though that should be avoided as well. I suppose this would translate as close as possible to, ‘Do unto others…’, ‘Treat thy neighbor…’ and would equate to a philosophy of tolerance.
Tradition. What traditions are we talking about? The tradition of offering a meal and room to a stranger? The tradition of shrinking your enemies head and keeping it as a souvenir? The tradition of drinking your enemies blood and eating their flesh to absorb his power? The tradition of sacrificing children to appease the gods? The traditions that brought about the Inquisition and the Salem Witch trials? The traditions of intolerance?
Values. The very concept of values is totally subjective. There is no absolute here. What one individual may deem as valuable another may regard as inconsequential. This applies not only to physical objects but to ideals as well.
What point in history. At exactly what point in history do we extract the above three parameters? Do we go back to 1900 when women still can’t vote? Do we go back to pre Civil War when slavery was a recognized institution? Do we go even farther back to when females were considered property and nothing more than a way to create a new labor force for hunting and farming?
Over the millennia these very concepts have constantly changed. Some values and traditions are absorbed or discarded by one society from another or evolve as time moves on. Sometimes these values and traditions are imposed by conquerors on the vanquished. In any case the ‘Founding Fathers’ sought fit to try and reach a reasonable balance and insulate the political and social arena from the religious one. They were very close to the centuries of religious warfare and conflict. They were well aware that a number of the Colonies were sounded as the result of either the religious intolerance or wish to promote the beliefs either the reigning monarch or the ruling group at the time. There was Catholic Maryland, Puritan Massachusetts, Quaker Pennsylvania. Then there was Rhode Island, founded as a result of the intolerance of those that had escaped intolerance. The separation of religion from politics was so important that it was incorporated into the First Amendment. The Rule of Law and not the Dogma of narrowly interpreted religious views was considered paramount in the establishment of a free and viable society.
Those politicians who pander to any religious group ignore the realities of history, violate their oath of office and demean the spirit and wisdom of the ‘Founding Fathers’ and framers of the Constitution.
--My coffee must be a making me reflect this morning.
Individuals, many of them politicians and religious leaders, throw around the phrase ‘Traditional family values’, but never define exactly what they mean. Well, let’s give it a try. First of all, what traditions, whose family, whose values and at what point in history are these traditions rooted?
Family. Whose family? It sure isn’t my family. My grandfather had what I though was a very sane approach to life. ‘Do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt someone’. Now obviously this is meant to be more in the area of physical pain and depravation. It isn’t possible never to hurt someone’s feelings, though that should be avoided as well. I suppose this would translate as close as possible to, ‘Do unto others…’, ‘Treat thy neighbor…’ and would equate to a philosophy of tolerance.
Tradition. What traditions are we talking about? The tradition of offering a meal and room to a stranger? The tradition of shrinking your enemies head and keeping it as a souvenir? The tradition of drinking your enemies blood and eating their flesh to absorb his power? The tradition of sacrificing children to appease the gods? The traditions that brought about the Inquisition and the Salem Witch trials? The traditions of intolerance?
Values. The very concept of values is totally subjective. There is no absolute here. What one individual may deem as valuable another may regard as inconsequential. This applies not only to physical objects but to ideals as well.
What point in history. At exactly what point in history do we extract the above three parameters? Do we go back to 1900 when women still can’t vote? Do we go back to pre Civil War when slavery was a recognized institution? Do we go even farther back to when females were considered property and nothing more than a way to create a new labor force for hunting and farming?
Over the millennia these very concepts have constantly changed. Some values and traditions are absorbed or discarded by one society from another or evolve as time moves on. Sometimes these values and traditions are imposed by conquerors on the vanquished. In any case the ‘Founding Fathers’ sought fit to try and reach a reasonable balance and insulate the political and social arena from the religious one. They were very close to the centuries of religious warfare and conflict. They were well aware that a number of the Colonies were sounded as the result of either the religious intolerance or wish to promote the beliefs either the reigning monarch or the ruling group at the time. There was Catholic Maryland, Puritan Massachusetts, Quaker Pennsylvania. Then there was Rhode Island, founded as a result of the intolerance of those that had escaped intolerance. The separation of religion from politics was so important that it was incorporated into the First Amendment. The Rule of Law and not the Dogma of narrowly interpreted religious views was considered paramount in the establishment of a free and viable society.
Those politicians who pander to any religious group ignore the realities of history, violate their oath of office and demean the spirit and wisdom of the ‘Founding Fathers’ and framers of the Constitution.
--My coffee must be a making me reflect this morning.