Is There Anything More Important Than Family

Is There Anything More Important Than Family

Five million years ago when the first humans came on the scene family was critical in securing their living conditions. Kids had to grow up quickly and be able to protect the family unit. Hunting and gathering was second to protection. Nobody left the family to explore. Exploration was done as a family. Sticking together was critical and anybody that didn't stay with the plan was sent out on their own. Most of them died.

500 BC the Roman Empire began. By 100 BC the Empire became a dictatorship. In 476 AD the Roman Empire fell. There were many reasons for the collapse; however some believe the disintegration of the family unit played a part. 

Everybody were screwing everybody. The kids were treated like shit. Poverty forced everyone to fight for their own self-preservation. The family moral code stopped existing. Even the very rich families fought each other to gain wealth and a higher position in life.

One hundred years ago the family unit was critical again. Everyone had to do their part or the family would fall apart. That could lead to starvation, financial disaster, in-fighting and/or a lot more negative things. The family name meant something. Families traveled together. Spouses stayed together even if they didn't get along with each other. Their kids were the most important thing in their lives.

This family bond got even stronger during the Second World War and lasted through the fifties and early sixties. Then the seventies happened.

The Vietnam War pulled apart the family unit. The government took kids from their families. Husbands and boyfriends were drafted. The younger generations were pissed at the older generation because they didn't want to fight a war they didn't believe in. Teenagers and college students rebelled. The family unit was no longer important to them. They openly spoke out against their parents and their government.

This dramatic change in the family unit is happening today. Kids are more mobile and independent. Parents are working, traveling and having fun without their teenagers and the teenagers are glad to see them go. Their kids' family unit now consists of friends, gangs, cults, etc. Mothers and fathers are there for shelter, money and food. Very few families work to support each other anymore. Mom and dad do their thing and we do our thing.

Spouses don't stick together if they don't like each other. Grown-up kids live in distant locations from their parents. They have their own life to deal with and only occasionally do they call, email, text or see (rarely) their parents. 

The ones in their twenties and thirties that are still living with their parents are consider losers. They usually don't like their parents and don't appreciate what they are doing for them. The parents are bombarded by friends and relatives telling them to force the kids out of the house so they can make their own life. The parents are too weak and/or afraid to send them packing.

Sooo, is any of this situation a good thing? Kids living at home in their twenties and thirties - NO!! Families that stay in touch even if they are separated by many miles - YES!

The family unit living, breathing, eating and shitting together is no longer necessary. Except for a few counties in America and around the world, most families are apart by the time the kids are twenty. Independence is a good thing. Having the kids out of the house so the parents can do the things they couldn't do when the kids were around is a good thing. A Kid making their own life for themselves is a good thing.

Sooo, is there anything more important than family - YES! Loving life, being happy, being loved, being trustworthy and always doing the right thing (family or no family) are more important.

However, is there great value in families caring about each other - Yes! Is there great happiness when the spouses like each other, stay together and always hear from their kids - YES! YES! YES!