Table of Contents
Introduction
The family is a critical component any society across the globe since they form the very fundamental aspect of the social fabric. A healthy community has been founded on the strength of the families, however in the last five decades; a dramatic change in the American families has been witnessed. Talking of a weakened family formation in the American society, which has caused the present socials problems, one would readily agree. This essay seeks to explore the changes that have occurred since 1960 that are threatening the formation and functionality of a family in the society.
Discussion
According to Strong et al. (2011), many factors, which include professionalism and career development amongst the women, same sex, more men choosing to stay at home to take of the children and high rate of divorce. These factors combined have threatened the very fundamental aspect that forms the family. The family is weakened.
It is attestable that a lot has changed in the setup of the American family. The changes have gradually defined and reshaped the American society as a whole since the 1960s. Before the advent of the industrial revolution, only men were considered as the sole providers of the family needs, however, in the present times, women have advanced in their careers, and most of them have a decent professional expertise, which has wholly transformed the conventional belief that women should work within the home. Strong et al. (2011) asserts that the change that has seen women rise in influential positions in the corporate world and even in the government has radically changed the priorities of women when it comes to matters of marriage and giving birth. Most professional women in American would choose alternatives, which do not cause child birthing, to provide them with adequate time to progress in their goals. The severe other aspect is that of the same sex family. Primarily, the issue of same-sex marriage has been, and it is debatable whether it reflects the real meaning of a family. Majority of the Americans do not agree with same –sex as a family but just a western orientation. Does this imply that the family is still strong in America? No, it is not, a family’s basic feature is procreation. Why the high cases of divorce? Simply because the modern American society does not believe in marriage, particularly the one that causes obstacles in the path of individual progression. It is evident that choosing one’s progression regarding profession or career comes first before the family, and this explains the fear that the American view about the family has dramatically changed and it has caused a weak sense of family in the society that needs to be resolved before the meaning of family diminishes (Alex, n.d).
Proposals
Some actions need to be embraced to redeem the current state of families in the American society. The aspect of same –sex should not be adopted as a family but just an orientation. A family will be recognized when a man and a woman marry and procreate to children. The second aspects involve government policy to empower the boy child. For a long time different governmental and non-governmental organizations have been championing for the rights of the girl child, and this has gone overboard in the sense that women are more empowered than men and this has caused instability in marriages (Alex, n.d). The more men that stay at home to take care of the children while women are at work evidence this. In essence, the proponents of the belief that the family in American is not weakened have changed the meaning of a family to suit their understanding. Otherwise, the family in the American setup has undergone many changes since the 1960s, and some of these changes have distorted the indeed meaning of a family, but the fact remains the family in 1960 was stronger than today.
- Alex Mcfarland; Jason Jimenez. n.d. Stand strong america;courage, freedom, and hope for tomorrow. [Place of publication not identified]: Broadstreet Publishing Gr.
- Strong, Bryan, Christine DeVault, and Theodore F. Cohen. 2011. The marriage and family experience: intimate relationships in a changing society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.