November 21, 2006
Bastards
The rate for out-of-wedlock births in the United States has reached an all-time high-----37%. That's nearly 4-in-10. What's more, the increase is not due to teenagers, but people in their 20's and older who are, according to the article, "are putting off marriage."
Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. The past thirty years has seen an unprecedented assault on the traditional family from all sides. If you tell a generation of children over and over again that any group of people raising a child is just as good as a mom and dad, then the concept of traditional parenthood will soon fly out the window. If you tell young girls that single parenthood is just another "choice" (just like abortion), then the incidence of it will increase. When couples living together before (or instead of) marriage becomes just another thing to do and is held in the same regard as marriage, why would people bother getting married to have children?
We have lost something very important in our society: shame. When all else failed, shame was what kept kids from shooting each other over a pair of shoes. When parental warnings weren't enough, shame was what kept so many kids from doing drugs. Public shame was what kept people from taking intimate relationships so lightly. In that way, the concept of shame is healthy---it's the last guardrail before you drive over the cliff.
Posted by Matthew at November 21, 2006 04:30 PMTrackBack URL for this entry:
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This is all well and good, and I'm as big a supporter of the traditional family as anyone (if not more so). However, why the HELL do we have a name for the kid born of an out-of-marriage relationship-- BASTARD-- when that kid had NOTHING to do with it and deserves NONE of the shame, and yet we have no names for the parents of out of wedlock kids, who are the ONLY ones responsible for anything that has happened? That makes no sense to me, and really pisses me off.
Posted by: Christy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.opaquelucidity.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 26, 2006 06:40 PM
With all the things going on in the world, That really pisses you off?
Posted by: Jomerica at November 27, 2006 08:33 AM
Christy, I think you have heard the word Bastard so many times that it sounds like a typical insult. The word is quite specific in meaning and refers only to children of unwed parents. Why is that offensive? Are you pissed off about "retarded" children to? Its not necessarily bad to have a title. It is the decay of the moral fabric that should be most offensive.
Posted by: Erik at November 27, 2006 09:44 AMChristy,
Right on! Children are the innocent victims of their parent’s choices.
Jo,
Another right on! Our politicians are corrupt, our young citizens are dying to try to keep people on the other side of the world from killing each other, our country is currently all but owned outright by the Chinese and children born out of wedlock are a pressing problem?
Erik,
The meaning of words morph over time. Gay used to mean happy, now it means homosexual male. Bastard used to mean child born out of wedlock, now it means evil or despicable, as in “They killed Kenny… Those bastards!” Dictionaries are great tools but they aren’t the end all and be all of meaning…
at November 27, 2006 11:12 PM
People morph words...so what? South Park reference does not drive your point in fact it only proves what I was saying. The focus must be not on the title of these kids but the moral status of their parents. But I know it easier to focus on the small things that the really meaningfull points.
Posted by: Erik at December 4, 2006 07:50 PM