The family is the first form of government. However, most of us would agree that, the family is more than just a genetic or biological concept. To some the family is one’s father or mother, or brother or sister. To others the family can be extended to fraternities, sororities, or even fellow gang-members. Nevertheless, the family as an institution, is a very powerful agent of political socialization. The family that I will focus on is, the biological family. There has been a major decline of the traditional nuclear family in the United States. When I say the nuclear family, I mean the husband, wife, and the children. When I say husband, I mean one man, and wife, one woman, and then the children. Family Destruction is the process of genetic and biological relatives, saying or doing things which are detrimental toward one another. When a mother tells her daughter, that she will grow up, but will not amount to anything, this is family destruction. When a father is overbearing and sets unrealistic goals for his children, this is family destruction. When a husband or wife, are abusive toward one another, especially in front of their children, this is family destruction. When mothers are taking daughters to court, and fathers are suing sons, this is family destruction. Family destruction in an analogical sense, is keeping a person as a  caterpillar and not allowing him or her to blossom into a butterfly. There are three major types of families in America’s political culture. First, it is the Close Family. The close family is the one that supports one another. This is the family that encourages and builds up one another. The close family does not just talk about love, but they actually show it. This is the family which supports each other, financially, socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The close family is not a perfect family, but, the closeness of such a  family, usually goes beyond the nuclear family, and overlaps into the extended family, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. The second family in America’s political culture is, the not so close or Distant family. In the distant family, the only time that one usually hears from his or her relatives, is when they want something. Selfishness rules in the distant family. Individuals in this family, possess the attitude that life is all about them. The distant family in many cases, is the exact opposite of the close family. In the distant family, there is not a lot of support going on, however, it is not unusual for members of this group, to claim that they are a close unit, when they truly are not. In the distant family, members are always trying to get something out of each other, for nothing. The third family in American political culture, is the Nonchalant Family. The nonchalant family is one, that is neither close nor distant. This family is one which neither encourages nor discourages it’s members to move on to higher heights. In the nonchalant family, if one goes to college, that is fine, and if one does not go to college, that is fine too. It does not means that members of the nonchalant family, do not love each other, it is just a social unit whereby, things in life do not matter, one way or the other. Whether, it is the Close, Distant, or Nonchalant family, all three must, as much as possible, stay away from family destruction. Too much  destruction in families, can cause a great deal of destruction in the community. Which could lead to destruction in one’s town or city, which could lead to destruction at the state and national level. Just think about it  for a moment, the vast majority of problems and social ills that we face in the U.S., today, such as teenage pregnancy, drugs, gangs, crime, alcoholism, and poverty. Are not many of these problems, due to the fact that the traditional nuclear family in America is constantly deteriorating at a rapid rate? How can America continue to be a great nation, while families within its parameters, are constantly self-destructing? I guess, as long as the United States government, provides opportunities for it’s citizenry, it is up to us to do the rest.

  The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

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