The Importance of Family

1

February 28, 2013 by Zee

There is a dangerous notion going around that the individual is superior to the group.
It is not uniquely American, but is emphasized moreso in American culture.
It’s the “I” generation!
Ipod, IPad, Individual rights and freedoms,
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, startup millionares,
youtube, facebook and social media in general…

The multibillion dollar ad industry is profiting by categorizing and target marketing us into smaller and smaller groups…they call it ‘demographics’.
Its the closest they can get to actually customizing products for each individual.

And oh my when they do, how our narcisstic human tendencies send us running for our pocketbooks and wallets in approval!

How much would you pay for a fragrance based on your own individual body chemistry,DNA, and nasal palate?

How much more do people pay to have a car built from scratch to their specifications?

Or for a home they co-designed with the architect; on a vantage they scouted and selected?

Yes; we accept that catering to our individual egos has a hefty price,
but it’s not all monetary.

 

Society isn’t what it used to be. So not only have the ideas of relationships, marriage, roles, responsibilities,and work-life balance all shifted significantly over the last generation,
but

so has the focus in general; away from collective good and towards (and I euphemise) individualism.

We are each special, we are each unique, we are each granted protection and rights as citizens of somewhere.

Just by being born.

The thing about being born is; to become individual, you must first be part of a group.

Before you are even here, you come from that group (of two people at least) and it already defines you.

Your family’s history becomes Your history. The first ‘we’ is family. First your mother, then your father and siblings. Then your extended family, friends; then friends of friends and friendly strangers, who become friends (or family).

Knowing your mother and father, we already know a significant portion of who you are and what your whole life will be like.

We know your race and ethnic blend, your socioeconomic situation,and your birth order..

We can predict what schools you might go to, or whether you will have a happy childhood, maybe even your political affinity.

We can determine your likelihood of being incarcerated or socially deviant by seeing if your father is involved, your parents can read, or if they have health problems.

A family is building block for all other interactional relationships and it becomes the control group by which we test other equations. In other words a family defines for each person what they see as good, bad and ‘normal’.

No matter what kind of family you have or what people are in it, the primary function of a family remains as a support system.

Even if an individual is screwed up, their family buffers them. Individuals may have problems, but the first source and last of healing should be the family and now societal dysfunction has gotten all the way down to this level.

In order to reverse the trend of declining values, morality, safety and community we must support and heal families.

Fight Philly Blight proposes an ongoing series of programs and events designed to strengthen and enhance family bonds, for regular families.

Since stable families are the foundation and crux of stable communities and mass prosperity, we will not wait until a family crisis becomes an institutional problem/profit to provide recreational events and safespace to bring families closer together

Read More about family programs.