Unequivocally, the family is the first form of government, and one could measure any society by the stability of  its social fabric, which is the family.  The family, historically, in the United States, was that of the patriarch nuclear family, which consisted of the father, mother, and children.  In the patriarch family the oldest male was usually in charge.  Later, the American family was that of the patriarch extended family, which consisted of the husband, wife, children, and another relative or relatives living in, such as a grandmother or grandfather, or an aunt or uncle.  As time went on, the traditional American family began to change,  and, became that of the matriarch, in which the oldest female was in charge, due to losing a spouse through death, high divorce rates, and men who basically walked out on their families.   By far, the family is a very powerful agent of political socialization, because it also links us to other socialization forces, such as ethnic identity, social class, the schools and education, and religious beliefs.  Therefore,  if one were to observe many of the social ills of America’s society, it could be traced back to the breakdown of the traditional American family.  For, an example, most studies on gang activity, show that more than 95 percent of  males who are involved in gang violence, come from families, where either the father is absent or there are not any positive male role models for them to look up to.  Therefore, the gang becomes the substitute family for a great deal of these young men.  When one observes teenage pregnancy, across this nation, most research will show that  the vast majority of these young girls come from families which are dysfunctional.  Many of these young girls,  are in, or come out of families that are single family households, in which their mothers are always working trying to make ends meet.  Many of these young girls also get caught up in the welfare system, and their perception of a positive male role model has been distorted, because the only men that they see or live around, are those who are unusually highly irresponsible, including their mothers’ boyfriends.  How about the homeless?  Are not the homeless, first rejected by their families, then the church, and other community outlets?  Thus, making  governmental institutions the ones, to have to deal with their problem.  The family is the first form of government, and what mom and dad must understand, is that the children that they procreated together, are their children, and their responsibility.  It is not the responsibility of the government to take care of their children.  Neither is it the responsibility of the followings:

   (a) the Church

   (b) Schools/Education

   (c) Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts/Brownies/Girl Scouts

   (d) Simba/Big Brothers/Big Sisters

   (e) the Media.

The above, can be a helping hand, but, they cannot substitute for mom and dad.  By the way, this also applies to those in wealthy communities, who push their kids off on the nannies. Such individuals, are those who  live in the suburban areas, in very upper class neighborhoods, who spent all of their time working, trying to pay the mortgage, in order to keep up with an extravagant life-style.  These parents too, must understand, that their children need them as well, and, that name brand clothes, BMW’s and check books cannot substitute for their presence.  People are running around trying to solve the problems of the world, and, have not dealt with the problems within their own families.   All social norms, mores, folkways, and other values and beliefs, must start with the first form of government, and, when they do not, society will be constantly in a great deal of chaos. Why?   Because messed up individuals, make-up messed up families. Messed up families, make-up messed up communities, and, messed up communities and towns, make-up messed up states.  Finally, messed up states, make-up, a messed up nation.

The Bowtie Professor Speaks!

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