
The functional family … functions, and the dysfunctional family, doesn’t. Sounds like as joke, but … if we want to know what contributes to a healthy human ecology, this equation is key. First, let it be clear that this is not a judgment on people, many of them victims of very complex and difficult personal situations. This is a scientific analysis of the consequences of certain social dynamics .
The exceptions exist and give us hope, but for every exception we must not forget the rest of people who suffer harm from adverse situations. Ben Carson, an African American, raised by his mother in very poor conditions in Detroit became at age 33 the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the prestigious Hopkins Hospital. But across races, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds, a boy raised by his father and mother married and living together, is twice as likely to finish school and avoid harmful behaviors.
In scientific studies cited by the lucid U.S. Democrat, Moynihan, the most decisive factor in predicting educational failure, crime, and other social ills, is neither race nor poverty but young people growing up in dysfunctional families. A society in which many young men grow up without a father, gets as results crime, violence and chaos; it is inevitable. But the first victim is the young man devoid of discipline, order and internal structure, incapable of the effort required to be successful in school and work. The cycle of socioeconomic inequality and marginalization is repeated and emphasized.
It is irresponsible for the defenders of sexual freedom and revolution to advocate cohabitation (65 % are separated before the child reaches age 10), divorce, and other dysfunctional arrangements as if they were neutral, hiding the consequences. Divorce, as an accidental death, can be mitigated, but is still a tragedy and the consequences are often harsh, especially for children. The highest rates of teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployment, crime, etc…, harm society weakening its productive population and imposing a greater burden on state social services and the social fabric in general. Because of this, the state has supported the contribution of the family in childbearing, educating and transmitting values to children, future citizens. As science demonstrates, the functional family … works.
