Ellen Goodman in her column for the Boston Globe yesterday mentioned the quote I blogged on yesterday by James Pinkerton: “the left has birth controlled, aborted and maybe also gay-libbed itself into a smaller role in American society.”
Ms. Goodman opines, “I am even far more dubious of a claim that political labels are handed down through the DNA or even around the dinner table. In our own swiftly changing country, parents who dutifully plant one ideological seed get some pretty different sprouts. Yet only Pinkerton suggested that persuasion could be a match for procreation.”
It’s true that parents can’t totally and completely manipulate the minds and hearts of their children into being mini copies of themselves and that’s a good thing. I’d like my children to be better than that! But Ms. Goodman seems to downplay the role of parental influence a bit too much. Many, if not most children will adopt the values they are raised with in my opinion. It has also been my experience that many adult children who reject their familial belief system – come back to it later after maturity, reality, or tragedy makes it the better option.
Still, the 1960s didn’t just happen because the parents of the 1940s and 1950s did such an outstanding job of passing on the heritage! I think the parents of the 21st century have learned something from the past. What we have learned is that if we want to change the culture, we have to provide a model for our children to learn from.
It’s not enough to go through the motions of going to church on Sunday, but that we live as a Catholic Christian family throughout the week too. That we pray together as a family and that we are aware throughout the liturgical year of favorite feast days and traditions. It is important that the children see the parents out in the community, working with their children in their sports teams, teaching PSR, doing food drives, helping out the local pregnancy center, visiting shut ins, the list is endless. Let the children see the actual work of being a Christian and have it become part of their lives.
It’s also important to let kids know WHY we believe things. They need to know at their own level that we support ALL human life and that every person is a precious gift from God.
But I think even more importantly, our kids need to see that we are HAPPY to be living our chosen lifestyle. If they only hear complaining about the money, or the lack of sleep, or the lack of free time, in a messy house, they’re not going to be very apt to follow the same path when they become adults!
James Pinkerton ended his article by saying that if the left couldn’t out reproduce conservatism, it could certainly be more persuasive! It’s our job as parents to show our children that its right to be right, and that no argument will ever be persuasive enough to change that. Give them the skills to think logically and face such challenges with confidence!
Ms. Goodman ended her article with this: “IN the 2000 presidential election, nearly 9 million women in those fertile years between 18 and 25 didn’t vote. Let’s not worry about getting them to the maternity wards. Let’s just get them to the polling booths.”
Her fatal flaw in my opinion, is the lack of forward vision. Today’s 14-year-old reaches voting age in 4 years. His kid sibling will be ready 4 years after that. While Ms. Goodman is out trying to persuade those 18-24 year old women to vote in this election, in conservative homes all over the country the culture is changing, one diaper, one skinned knee, one soccer game, one family meal, one night time blessing at a time.
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