Here's the second part to my dialogue with a 'new friend' about families and gay rights.
He wrote last week, "To me, there are issues of greater importance and significance to the future of education and the economy, namely the strength and stability of our nation's families. Despite the critical role of the family in raising each new generation, increasing numbers of detractors chip away at its' essential function and purpose."
Right or wrong, here's my response:
I endorse your concern and support for families. And I would acknowledge that the stability and health of families is indeed more important than other issues that I addressed. The health of families is also something that transcends a decade or century, and was important in the Agrarian Age, the Industrial Age and the Knowledge Society.
With respect to the health of families today, I have two thoughts.
One is that I maintain that if a small group of fortunate people (I use Rotary as the example as I have been a member to two different Rotary clubs in two different states and have experience with it) each mentored just one child from the most disadvantaged of situations in the local community, we could enhance the health of families, and future families, enormously.
My second thought is that there is clear evidence and research that the more inequality in wealth in a society (or even U.S. state) the lower the quality of life on just about every measurement one can name (health, mental health, longevity, etc.). Basically if our states and nation had greater equality in income, we would have no homeless people. So the inequality in wealth situation is clearly related to the health of families today from my perspective.
Photo: Two years ago when our foster son Sammie, and Willie, came home for Christmas.
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