Social Experimentation 101

During the course of my short life, American society seems to be carelessly implementing social experiments with no real understanding as to the consequences of such change.

The core of any society is the family unit. The stronger the family, the stronger the society. When my parents got married, there were common expectations of the dating ritual and of marriage:

• You didn't have premarital sex.
• You did not cheat on your spouse.
• You did not divorce.

Granted, not everyone followed these standards, but they were the expectations of society at the time. If you are able to manage these three things, some amazing events occur... or should I say don't occur:

• You don't have children out of wedlock.
• You have far fewer single-parent homes.
• Impact of sexual disease on society is greatly diminished.
• Children are raised with both parents.

Then, in the sixties and seventies, we became "enlightened" and, with the advent of birth control, made some pretty hefty social changes:

• Marriage is not a prerequisite of sex.
• Premarital sex becomes acceptable.
• Sex no longer equals pregnancy.
• The value of pregnancy decreases.
• The expectation of responsibility for sexual actions diminishes.
• Sexual diseases spread at a far greater rate.

Once this became engrained in society, the next great set of social changes occurred:

• The value of marriage decreased.
• Divorce became more prevalent.
• Single-parent homes increased.
• Unplanned pregnancies increased.
• The definition of pregnancy changes, dehumanizing the baby in the womb by calling it a fetus.
• Abortions became acceptable.

So, what are we left with?

• Children having to be raised primarily in day care situations are not guided by their parents on socially acceptable behavior. Emotional control issues arise such as road rage, stalking and increased domestic violence.
  
• Media has a growing influence on our children's moral structure as they spend more time alone in front of the television than with their parent(s).
  
• Gang membership increases as children search for a sense of family they are not receiving at home.
• The definition of family broadens to encompass anyone who can create a baby, naturally or artificially, with no consideration for the number of parents involved.
• If the life of a fetus is up for individual moral determination, then what about the elderly and terminally ill? Euthanasia becomes a viable option.
• Since sex is no longer mandatory for the purpose of pro-creation or as an outgrowth of marriage, homosexuality and other "alternative" lifestyles become more acceptable.

Where is this all leading? I don't really know. But it does concern me. We seem to be moving away from societal norms to individual norms.

Before we redefine marriage or begin cloning or use aborted tissue to fix our own medical problems, maybe we should take a step back to forecast the implications of such massive social change.

Will these changes strengthen the family or not? Will they strengthen the nation or not?

One thing is certain, everyone cannot do whatever they want whenever they want... that's called Anarchy.

We live in a democratic republic. There have to be rules in a society... an agreed upon set of values that guide our moral and social decisions. Some people will be disappointed. Some people will be "disenfranchised." But there is still value in sacrifice for the greater good. Some of us will have to sacrifice what we want in order for the nation to get what it needs... or, at least, I hope we will.