Family

      Today what is considered the “family” unit may appear quite different from what we would have considered it several decades ago.

      When I was growing up the family was considered the father, the mother, and the children.  Very often the family was viewed as a unit of four, the parents with two children.  The TV program that comes to my mind in reflecting this view is “Leave It to Beaver”.

 

     In this sitcom, which aired between 1957 and 1963, it told of the antics of an inquisitive and often naïve boy and his adventures at home, school, and around his suburban neighborhood.  The show starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as his parents, June and Ward Cleaver, with Tony Dow as his brother Wally, and Jerry Mathers as the “Beaver!”  It’s hard to believe that some 60 years later it would still be an icon from the past enjoyed by many.  You might be able to see some of the old episodes at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050032/

 

     Although this style of television program had been a slight variation on previous shows depicting family life, it was a great hit, viewing the comical situations from the perspective of the child. 

 

     The prior (and concurrent) show of “Father Knows Best” was viewed from the perspective of how the parents had to deal with the situations that their children would get in to.  In the end, the father (Robert Young) always would come up with the right solution.  The wife, Jane Wyatt, would always be highly supportive of her husband in all of the decisions that were made for their three children played by actors, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin.  You might be able to view some of these programs at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046600/

 

     These sitcoms gave us a slightly distorted view of the American family life.  Although there were problems and challenges that had to be dealt with, there was never a situation that couldn’t be handled by the conclusion of the program.

 

     Then television came along with programs that dealt with real-life situations of the family that often didn’t have a pleasant outcome.  Drugs, sex, violence, abortion, death, and other topics, have all been the subject of various programs where television has tried to “keep up with the times.”  Some have dealt very successfully with the topics, while others have missed the mark, so to speak.  One such recent American TV series, Euphoria, follows a group of high school students through their experiences of sex, drugs, friendships, love, identity and trauma.  It premiered in June 2019.  I, personally, have not seen this program, but can only imagine how it might graphically illustrate the subject matter that it deals with.  If you aren’t familiar with this program you can check it out at https://www.hbo.com/euphoria

 

     Today, more than ever before the family unit has changed in many ways.  Once considered to be “a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a unit”, the family can now be composed of, initially, total strangers who have come together, uniting themselves for self-protection or other reasons.  They have learned to cooperate together and gain benefit from the unity that they enjoy.

 

      However, the family is under attack!  This was the downfall of the Roman Empire, the divisiveness of the family unit.  And that tactic has not changed over the centuries.  If you can           divide the family, you will successfully destroy the very fabric of human society.  So, the family is being attached from within and from without.  This short blog post is not the place to attempt to elaborate upon the complexity of such a subject, you will have to do more of your own research; however, the fact is the damage is present and it is real!

 

     Often this attack is from our own selfish flesh and desires.  We cause the majority of our own problems.  We are responsible for the break-down of the family unit.  We are most often our own greatest enemy.  However, this fact we must all face and realize: we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"No one can get through things alone,

we need one another."