The international community seems to be making a bit of a one-sided push.

The article was quite informative on a number of statistical issues. However, a reading of the article also reveals the unfortunate conflation of the terms “family planning” and “contraception.” Contraception is but one aspect of family planning, and the two terms should not be used interchangeably. Lest this view be seen as nitpicking, let us examine the implications of equating family planning with contraception.

I think the author is a Kenyan woman, for what it's worth.

Labels: contraception, family

When the Christian right was organized in the 1970s and galvanized in the 1980s, the issues of abortion and homosexuality were front and center. Where was divorce? Smith documents the fact that groups such as the “pro-traditional family” Moral Majority led by the late Jerry Falwell generally failed even to mention divorce in their publications or platforms.

. . . .

But the real scandal is far deeper than missing listings in an index. The real scandal is the fact that evangelical Protestants divorce at rates at least as high as the rest of the public. Needless to say, this creates a significant credibility crisis when evangelicals then rise to speak in defense of marriage.

Labels: family, religion

When Rabbi Simcha Zissel of Kelm (1824-1898) would wake up his young children in the morning, he would gently say to them, "Children, wake up. You have a kingdom to rule. The Almighty gave humans command over the entire creation" (Hameoros Hagdolim, cited in Growth Through Torah, p. 144).

Labels: charity, family, jewish, religion

The dream of the defiant hero, standing alone to face down life's adversities dies hard. The great irony is that many men think they are emulating the Lone Ranger even as they sit home watching him; sifting endlessly through cable channels, beer in one hand, remote in the other. Evidently, in an interdependent world, the sole qualification for claiming self-reliance is not "solving the problem," but never asking for help.

Not surprisingly, male identity is still closely linked to the job. Unlike Depression-era people, we no longer ask "Are you working;" rather we want to know "What do you do?" Your job title or occupation immediately stratifies you in the social bedrock. And when that identity is lost, there is an urgency to replace it with something of stature. When nothing is available, says Dokoupil, "men humiliated by their loss of work often compensate by reasserting their worst hyper-masculine impulses, doubling down on old alpha-male stereotypes." In past recessions, that has meant finding refuge in sports and popular culture, hitting the bottle or the gym, and vilifying women as the cause of the problem. Not much has changed.

Times are tough, but isolating will only make them tougher. If you can't take care of your finances, you have to take care of yourself. IT is insular by nature. Coding can be a solitary pursuit, and developing a relationship with a computer is less demanding and more predictable than the messiness that comes with people. To get through the rough patches, IT professionals may have to make a conscious effort to reach out.

Isolation can indeed be a great temptation for some, ie me, but must be resisted. After all, if you're a member of the City of God, you can't spend your time out in a cave somewhere. Monks living in caves of course have an exception due to the fact that they spend their time praying and are thus in constant contact with the City. Sort of a spiritual telecommuting, in a way.

Labels: economics, family, work

I believe that it is a tradition in my family to try to

1)Show up late for the 5PM Mass
2)Eat dinner as far away from other family members as possible.

This is rather sad. I believe that we're trying something new this year - eating with family. Whoo hoo! Sounds like a good first step.

Labels: family, religion

We've all heard the idea that regular family meals together help to keep families together and can help individuals lead healthier and happier lives. Today Fr. Leo came to my church (St. Rose of Lima) and spoke about this. He also reminded us that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and we should ask ourselves what gift are we giving Him. He had some suggestions based on today's readings. He was also promoting his website (linked above) and his new book full of recipes and ideas for how to have meaningful family conversation.

In my family meals have always been an important time together. Sometimes this can come across as a negative, or a means of control, (you must be home for dinner on Sunday!) And sometimes our dinner conversations were dominated by the parents and their investigations on me and my brother. They wanted to be sure we were doing everything right in our lives and used this time to drill us. Those dinners sometimes became disasters and unpleasant memories. However, there have been good times in which we all simply relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

Dinner together as a family can be great, but man does not live on dinner alone! As with everything the motivations you bring to the table will determine how pleasant that family meal is. Eating together should be a time to really check in (not check on) your kids. I think if you suspect there is an issue that needs to be resolved you should do that with the child individually later. Eating together should be a cause for celebration and a time for thanksgiving. I think my parents often felt pressured to drill my brother and I because we had so little time together that they worried if they didn't bring up certain things over dinner, we would slip away and the topic wouldn't get discussed.

Now my housemates are my surrogate family. I live in a former convent with eight other women. We eat dinner together every Sunday and we try to eat together (schedules permitting) Monday through Thursday. I try to make it to every dinner, because I know this is usually the only time in the day I'll take to enjoy the company of those I live with. If it weren't for these dinners I wouldn't have such good bonds with some of them. Of course there are those housemates who are unable or choose not to come to the majority of dinners. We lament that they chose not to join us and that they miss out on community life, but you can't force people into spending time together.

Labels: family, food