The withering of the family

OPINION:

Those closest of blood ties are meant to inscribe indelible lines in the book of every family’s life, but seldom have people been more inclined to write themselves out of their familial story.

With jarring social trends designed to scatter their households in different directions, Americans can do no better than to shield their families from those withering forces.

A Pew Research Center survey last month lays bare the “shifting social norms” that leave many Americans pessimistic about the condition of the family. Asked to peer into the future, 40% express pessimism about the institution of marriage and the family. And 29% are lukewarm — neither pessimistic nor optimistic. Only 26% say they’re optimistic.

Key trends diverging from traditional marriage generate ambivalence among respondents. Fewer people getting married, more couples cohabiting outside of marriage, and couples having fewer children elicit a collective shrug. Only the phenomenon of fewer children being raised by two married parents strikes a chord, with 49% viewing it as a negative. Another 39% have mixed feelings, and just 12% see it as a good thing. The hopelessly myopic alone haven’t noticed the unhinged behaviors of kids raised by TikTok influencers rather than a mother and father.

Perhaps most appalling are the factors Americans attribute to living a fulfilling life. Enjoying one’s job or career is ranked as extremely or very important by 71%. In stark contrast, having children would rank last, at 26%, if not for the lowliest of opinion regarding marriage, considered essential by only 23%.

Sadly, the United States is creeping along the path of inhumane movements that believe destroying the family — the fundamental unit of human relationships since time immemorial — is the key to enacting radical social upheaval. In particular, the enduring influence of long-dead Karl Marx, who viewed the family as an institution whose only purpose is to promote capitalism, finds modern expression in public school campaigns to block parental oversight of children’s education and infect students with libertine sexual and gender fads.

Americans can witness the same dismissive view of family values building in the legislative antics of trendy California. The General Assembly’s recently passed Bill 957 called for judges presiding over custody proceedings to consider whether parents were supportive of a child’s gender identity. The measure would grant the state the power to strip custody from a parent objecting to a minor child’s yearning for medical treatments that might include puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery.

Fortunately, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the measure. The far-left governor had supported the bill, but other eventualities — including a possible challenge to President Biden as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee — counseled caution when toying with humankind’s most enduring institution.

Undergirding American culture has been a religious belief that each individual is made in the image of the Creator. Marriage, which allows man and woman to participate in an act of creation with the birth of a child, has no equal in filling life with dignity and purpose.

Today’s Americans should guard the door against invasive forces that contribute to the withering of familial relationships, imperfect though they may be. There is no downside to upholding the family.