Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Education or Family Values; Chicken before the Egg?

BHO said on Tuesday:

"Despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short, and other nations outpace us," Obama said. "The relative decline of American education is untenable for our economy, unsustainable for our democracy, and unacceptable for our children. We cannot afford to let it continue. What is at stake is nothing less than the American dream."

This was during his speech to overhaul the education system. He thinks that by creating incentives for teacher’s that it will solve our education issues, and save our country from an inevitable decline. Spend all the money in the world and you will be left with nothing more than an empty wallet. Great teachers do not teach for the money, they do it because they are passionate about education.

That said here’s a news flash for you: Education has been on the decline ever since the American family values system has been on the decline.

Single parents outpace traditional families. Premarital sex has led to an enormous increase in young, unwed, single mothers who struggle in raising a family. Child abuse claims are on the rise and in my city is already 3 fold fro ma year ago. What was once shunned upon by society is now completely acceptable. In fact, there is more government assistance for a young, single mother than for a traditional young family who is struggling to make ends meet. I’d we willing to wager that the difference is tenfold.

The Divorce rate is climbing due to ‘no fault’ divorce laws and its continued acceptance in society. Instead of making it work even if only for the good of the Children, men and women are tricked by society into believing they can do it better on their own. Then they battle it out in the court systems and children are bartered as possessions. It’s MY weekend! I get to clam them on taxes this year! Etc…

When you are single parent, it is tough on you; I know and feel for those of you in that situation. If you do not have a close, reliable family willing to pitch in and fill some of the paternal voids (pick up the children from school because you need to work late, take them to a Dr. appt. because you have used up all of your vacation time, help teach the kid to hit/throw a curveball, etc…) you find yourself in situations where you have to make horrible choices in either your career or your household. Then the Children grow up, and begin to model their life after yours, and it’s much more difficult to tell them “Do as I say, not as I did/do”. Children aren’t dummies and they will push you to your parental limits. None of us are supermen/women, and if we were, then teenagers are kryptonite and they know it.

Here’s the deal. With no moral authority parents are left with very little leverage in raising their Children. They are left with the empty phrase of “because I said so…” which, to a rebellious son/daughter means nothing more than “I know better than you…” which may be true, but is as empty in meaning as MC Hammer’s (Ed McMahon for you more seasoned folks) bank account. When kids are bombarded with humanistic views of they are masters of their own destiny, they can do anything, and everything is ok as long as you are lead by your heart; they lose sense of reality. Wrong is no longer wrong if it feels good. Feelings and emotions outweigh logic and common sense.

Here’s a question, is murder wrong?...Who says so? Man’s law? What is man’s law based on?

Perfect example: I had an amazing opportunity to see Dennis Prager deliver a speech on morality. He told a story of a time he posed a question to a group of High School Seniors he was addressing. His question was simple; if you saw your dog and a stranger both drowning and you could only save one of them, which would you save? Overwhelmingly the students chose their dog over the stranger. This is exactly the type of results you will have when you are lead by your heart. The same reason we spend millions in federal money to support Chimpanzee Retirement Homes yet allow people to abort their children. It is ‘wrong to euthanize an Ape, that looks and acts so much like us, shares so much of our DNA; but a baby you cannot see, or hear…well, think of the burden that young girl will have to endure for the rest of her life from one night of poor decision making. I can tell you; neither of my two children were ‘planned’, in fact I could tell you that it was not the most convenient of things I’ve had to endure, but…I tell you the truth when I say…HAVING CHILDREN IS THE GREATEST JOY I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. Nothing compares…nothing on earth. I think of the guilt that a young girl who had an abortion will have to endure for the rest of her life, knowing what she has given up, the joy she will miss out on, because her heart had control of her mind. I feel for her…and her loss.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, it is well known that children thrive within the family structure. Two parents, preferably Male/Female is the balance that was intended from design. If you have no religion at all, use nature as your guide. Very few animals go it alone; both parents have an intended role in the youngling’s development. From teaching the young to hunt/fight/gather/groom/love/nest/forage/store etc… each parental figure is vital to the survival of the species.

The learning process, the passion to learn, grow, and succeed, all start at home. It is vital for not only the ‘American Dream’, but for our own survival as a species.

Don’t bag on my Judeo-Christian worldview; Islam, Hinduism, all of the worlds great religions support moral values. It’s something we all agree upon.

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