Believe it or not, just about everything in life is better than ever. Less crime*, highest ever standard of living, great economy, very low unemployment, and conveniences/technology that make our lives so much easier. It may seem like things are worse, but think about why that is so. For one thing, every sad, violent, or inflammatory incident anywhere in the world is reported and heard by virtually by everyone who wants to listen. The news cycle is never-ending with the ever-present Internet and cable news. Social media is everywhere and often misleading, not to mention provocative. Opinions have always been plentiful, we just never heard so many of them as much as we do today.
We also seem to be more interested in bad news more than good news and, therefore, we are inundated with it because of the profit motive. For example, when we make wine, we use the juice of the grape and rarely use the seeds because everyone enjoys the wine. In the world of news events, we rarely use the juice (good news) and keep the seeds (bad news) because that’s what most people want. And every seed in every vineyard in the world is reported on. It’s difficult to escape the sorrow and feeling of doom. The world is situationally magnified in some areas and ignored in others.
“Public perceptions about crime in the U.S. often don’t align with the data.”
When I was a kid living in the city in the 1950s, at six years of age or younger, I would walk to the store to get bread or butter for my mom. A little kid in a low income city neighborhood with money in his pocket walking two, maybe four blocks alone, when crime rates were higher. These days, we hear about a kid being snatched maybe once a year in Anywhere, USA. As a reaction to this disturbing news, many parents panic when their kid disappears in the next aisle of the grocery store. Abductions that take place compared to opportunities are staggeringly low, miniscule! Now, I don’t blame parents for being protective of the children at all because the consequences are unimaginable! But really, the likelihood of someone abducting your child is ridiculously low.
“Crime has never subsided as a topic for local news or prime-time detective shows. Anyone looking for reasons to fear going out of the house can find plenty. But the truth is our streets are safer than they have been in a long time.” Chicago Tribune
Families, the Real Issue
My point is that the real thing to fear, regarding the health and welfare of our children, is most likely to come within our own families** and not so much those creepy people that have always existed. Unfortunately, the only real negative trend these past few decades is the decline of the two-parent family. When one parent is missing, usually the father, the aggregate statistics regarding crime, poverty, abuse, out-of-wedlock births are much worse.
“Today, only about 64 percent of children live in homes with two parents who are married, representing an all-time low (Pew Research Center)”.
The children representing the other 36%, those of single parent homes (around 24 million), are a majority of the victims and perpetrators of the crimes, poverty, abuse, and out-of-wedlock births; not all of them, of course, but by far a larger percentage than those in two parent homes. The statistics are clear!
Its weak family units that fail and threaten our children. They fail our kids when they don’t give them structure. They fail them when they don’t give their children limits, encouragement, opportunities, or demonstrated love. It is not difficult to find help or information on how to parent!
Not always are single parent homes where you will find weak families. Oftentimes, single parents fight the hardest and provide enthusiastic guidance in support of their children. In reality, many two parent families are weak because they either don’t care enough or are completely at a loss as to how to raise children. Lack of monetary assets is not a good excuse for bad parenting. Although it can help, it doesn’t take money to raise a child properly. A child needs love more than he needs a smartphone. A child needs to be watched over more than she needs a yearly visit to Disneyworld. Both parents working may be a necessity for a family, but the impact on your children should be a consideration when making that decision.
Summary
Life in aggregate is better than ever. For some, it is not. But the main contributors to those that are failing in life have more to do with family issues than outside forces. A child taught self-worth, and good values has the tools to meet outside challenges and reject or ignore the pessimisms of social or mass media. Children properly mentored will realize they have more control over their lives than those with self-doubt and little support.
So while life is getting better overall, we still have a long way to go! But how to get there? I believe a focus and efforts to help families be prepared to do the base groundwork of support and encouragement to their children will be the way propel us to much greater heights! Let’s not forget that the family is the base social unit that makes up every higher social unit. You can’t have a good home, neighborhood, town, or country when the families that comprise them are dysfunctional or hurting! Our greatest resource for even greater lives ahead resides within families!
Resources:
*Crime: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/30/5-facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/
**Family facts: https://www.yourazlawfirm.com/40-facts-two-parent-families/
Std of Living info: https://news.gallup.com/poll/218981/americans-ratings-standard-living-best-decade.aspx
Father absence statistics: https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/135704/file-396018955-pdf/RyanNFIFatherAbsenceInfoGraphic051614.pdf?t=1532095300879
We also seem to be more interested in bad news more than good news and, therefore, we are inundated with it because of the profit motive. For example, when we make wine, we use the juice of the grape and rarely use the seeds because everyone enjoys the wine. In the world of news events, we rarely use the juice (good news) and keep the seeds (bad news) because that’s what most people want. And every seed in every vineyard in the world is reported on. It’s difficult to escape the sorrow and feeling of doom. The world is situationally magnified in some areas and ignored in others.
“Public perceptions about crime in the U.S. often don’t align with the data.”
When I was a kid living in the city in the 1950s, at six years of age or younger, I would walk to the store to get bread or butter for my mom. A little kid in a low income city neighborhood with money in his pocket walking two, maybe four blocks alone, when crime rates were higher. These days, we hear about a kid being snatched maybe once a year in Anywhere, USA. As a reaction to this disturbing news, many parents panic when their kid disappears in the next aisle of the grocery store. Abductions that take place compared to opportunities are staggeringly low, miniscule! Now, I don’t blame parents for being protective of the children at all because the consequences are unimaginable! But really, the likelihood of someone abducting your child is ridiculously low.
“Crime has never subsided as a topic for local news or prime-time detective shows. Anyone looking for reasons to fear going out of the house can find plenty. But the truth is our streets are safer than they have been in a long time.” Chicago Tribune
Families, the Real Issue
My point is that the real thing to fear, regarding the health and welfare of our children, is most likely to come within our own families** and not so much those creepy people that have always existed. Unfortunately, the only real negative trend these past few decades is the decline of the two-parent family. When one parent is missing, usually the father, the aggregate statistics regarding crime, poverty, abuse, out-of-wedlock births are much worse.
“Today, only about 64 percent of children live in homes with two parents who are married, representing an all-time low (Pew Research Center)”.
The children representing the other 36%, those of single parent homes (around 24 million), are a majority of the victims and perpetrators of the crimes, poverty, abuse, and out-of-wedlock births; not all of them, of course, but by far a larger percentage than those in two parent homes. The statistics are clear!
Its weak family units that fail and threaten our children. They fail our kids when they don’t give them structure. They fail them when they don’t give their children limits, encouragement, opportunities, or demonstrated love. It is not difficult to find help or information on how to parent!
Not always are single parent homes where you will find weak families. Oftentimes, single parents fight the hardest and provide enthusiastic guidance in support of their children. In reality, many two parent families are weak because they either don’t care enough or are completely at a loss as to how to raise children. Lack of monetary assets is not a good excuse for bad parenting. Although it can help, it doesn’t take money to raise a child properly. A child needs love more than he needs a smartphone. A child needs to be watched over more than she needs a yearly visit to Disneyworld. Both parents working may be a necessity for a family, but the impact on your children should be a consideration when making that decision.
Summary
Life in aggregate is better than ever. For some, it is not. But the main contributors to those that are failing in life have more to do with family issues than outside forces. A child taught self-worth, and good values has the tools to meet outside challenges and reject or ignore the pessimisms of social or mass media. Children properly mentored will realize they have more control over their lives than those with self-doubt and little support.
So while life is getting better overall, we still have a long way to go! But how to get there? I believe a focus and efforts to help families be prepared to do the base groundwork of support and encouragement to their children will be the way propel us to much greater heights! Let’s not forget that the family is the base social unit that makes up every higher social unit. You can’t have a good home, neighborhood, town, or country when the families that comprise them are dysfunctional or hurting! Our greatest resource for even greater lives ahead resides within families!
Resources:
*Crime: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/30/5-facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/
**Family facts: https://www.yourazlawfirm.com/40-facts-two-parent-families/
Std of Living info: https://news.gallup.com/poll/218981/americans-ratings-standard-living-best-decade.aspx
Father absence statistics: https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/135704/file-396018955-pdf/RyanNFIFatherAbsenceInfoGraphic051614.pdf?t=1532095300879
