Monday, August 26, 2019

Civilization Values, Part VII: Family Perpetuates Civilization


Family is the basic unit of civilization. That's our starting premise.

What did we do on our summer vacation?
Hung out with grandkids.


We’re in a series on the values of civilization, which are to value God, life, family, truth, and property ownership. The earlier parts of this series include:

·         Part I: Life
·         Part II: Truth
·         Part III: Property Ownership
·         Part IV: God and Freedom of Religion
·         Part V: Civilizing Religion
·         Part VI: Repenting as a Civilization

Today we begin talking about family.

God and family are taking larger places than the others, simply because they are the values undergirding all. Our rights either come from God—they do—or they are extended by earthly government and repealed at will by government. If you’re subject to the whims of government, whose views and powers change according to the opinion of whoever has power, you’re under tyranny. But if you have rights granted by God, government’s role is either to protect them or use unrighteous dominion to try to deprive human beings of those God-given rights.

Next to God in importance is family, because this basic unit of society is how we transfer all the values from generation to generation.

The first six parts of this series drew from the Spherical Model website article "Civilization vs. Savagery." Family is big enough to have its own separate article, “Family Is the Basic Unit of Civilization.”

Today we’ll cover the basic introduction, which is why family is important. It’s both a micro-civilization in itself, when it’s fully functional, and it’s a way to perpetuate civilization. And then, more on family values in the next post.
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Civilized societies value family as the most important and basic unit of governance. Alternatively, a hallmark of totalitarian regimes, which are savage, is the replacement of the family with the state. Totalitarianism resents loyalty to any societal unit other than itself. And it is this absolute weakness that will always prevent a totalitarian state from offering true Civilization as you’d find it in a free strong-family society.
This is particularly important to know for people living in a sub-civilized society. As long as families are allowed to live among themselves (children are under the care of their own parents), it is possible to have a civilized society that is just one family in size. Then, if that family can find additional similarly civilized families to associate with, their society grows. If it could grow to the size of a village or township, all the better. The goal of the founding fathers was to have that civilization spread through the United States (and if that experiment worked, have other sovereign states adopt the plan). But a family doesn’t have to wait until the world changes; the family can live the laws of civilization and enjoy many of the benefits, at least within the walls of the home.
Families have the responsibility to safeguard women and children for the greatest benefit of both current and future generations. Families provide food, shelter, clothing, education, spiritual guidance, and training in how to live a civilized life in a civilized society. Elderly are honored for their wisdom. Youth are honored for their potential. Women are honored for giving and nurturing life, among their other abilities. Men are honored for providing and protecting, among their other abilities. Families are the main economic force, as well as the very means whereby civilization can perpetuate. Civilized societies therefore protect The Family as sacred.
Mr. Spherical Model, has been doing dad work
for more than three decades so far

A hallmark of civilized society is the importance of marriage as the only acceptable place for sexual relations. Every society that decides to try devaluing fidelity in marriage eventually (and often quickly) sinks into decadence. Sex within marriage not only provides offspring, it cements the bond between the two parents, so that the child will grow in a home of love and protection and guidance. No other situation is even remotely as beneficial for a child.
Humans being mortal, there will be incidents where some children will be raised without both parents. Ideally, there should never be divorce (a necessary evil in response to decidedly uncivilized behavior). But there will be death, which is inevitable. Nevertheless, in a healthy, peaceful society the abundance of intact, healthy families can help compensate for the few homes that don’t have the child’s two living parents.
It is probably possible to quantify what percentage constitutes a critical mass of functional families that can compensate for a smaller percentage of problem homes without an undue toll on civilization. But, in general, the more family health, the more civilized the society.

Over the years, on the blog, I covered some of the benefits of fathers and mothers, and families, often close to Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, plus a few other times. It has added up.

·       Honoring Fathers, June 17, 2011
·       Building Better Families, June 20, 2011 
·       Dad Rules, June 18, 2012 
·       Fathers, June 15, 2014 
This little guy is about to turn seven already.
·       Being a Dad, June 22, 2015 
·       Depend on Dad, June 27, 2016 
·       Mother Joy, May 8, 2014 
·       The Good Part, May 8, 2013 

·       Home Making, May 6, 2013 
·       The Motherhood Study, May 6, 2011 
·       Another Word about Life, January 30, 2013 
·       Family Superpower, July 29, 2013 
·       That Decision Mothers Make, November 3, 2014 
·       Motherless Princesses, June 17, 2013 

Just to sum up today, here’s a quote for fathers and one for mothers:

Imagine a world in which every lonely, confused adult going down the wrong road had had a dad that filled the role—maybe not perfectly, but with love, tenderness, and an unending will for the child’s life to go well. Not all the world’s problems would be solved; people still have free will, so some will just choose badly. But so many more will know what a good choice looks like. The holes in so many children’s hearts would be filled, and ready to pass that love along.
—(quoting myself from “Being a Dad.”)

If you were the grand designer, and you wanted to place certain people in charge of protecting, preserving, and passing along the ideas of civilization, for the happiness and well-being of all, you would design individuals with passion, who would pass along those ideas out of love to their young charges, believing that happiness in the present and future for those young charges was more important than any personal concerns. You couldn’t hire such caregivers. You couldn’t assign an institution to do it. You would have to create—mothers. Indeed, that is what the Grand Designer did.
—(quoting myself from “The Motherhood Study.”)

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