Family-first

Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost has a tremendous post on "Family-First Conservatism." His manifesto very accurately details the significance of the family and its essential role in society. For centuries people-groups have placed the family as the center of society. People groups that have moved the center of society to another source have experienced trouble. Many modern Oprahfied liberals seem to want to replace the family with something else. They will acknowledge that community is important to society. Yet, they do not recognize this community begins with the family. Instead of the family, the begin with the individual. They place the individual at the center of society. This seems to be backwards. The strength of the family is what gives the individual his worth. Having intrinsic worth means that you as a person play an important role in something. It means that you are a valuable part of a whole. Though we might say it, and attempt to convince ourselves of it, no one is autonomous. No one can survive without a connection to someone and something else. We all greatly desire to be a part of something outside of ourselves. The family satisfies this desire. The family provides the connections we so desperately desire. Nothing can make as feel as valuable as a solid family structure. Nearly all types of social organizations at some level resemble the family. This can be seen explicitly in street gangs. Many of the kids that join street gangs are looking for the belonging and support that they don't receive from their families. Much of the community that Oprahites crave is patterned after the familial structure that is often absent in their lives. In attempting to replace that which is missing, they are destroying that which is missing. People flock to things to replace the family because their family doesn't provide the support they desire. Yet, by running to these other groups, they are forsaking the one thing which they really need. No one can give us the support and unconditional love our families can. That is one of the main themes of last-year's film Little Miss Sunshine--no matter how dysfunctional a family is, and no matter how many troubles cross their paths, they can survive if they support each other. Family is what makes this life livable. Seeking the familial structure in places other than the family is like drinking soda when you are dehydrated--it may temporarily quench your thirst, but it will not solve the problem.