cohabitation, fatherlessness, and illegitimacy

still reading william j. bennett's book the broken hearth: reversing the moral collapse of the american family...

some tidbits from chapter III ... i looked back at the title bennett gave the section of his book and low and behold, it is called "cohabitation, illegitimacy and fatherlessness" ... so i ask his acceptance of the title of my little blog, and his indulgence as i quote him...

a. "widepread cohabitation delivers, in practice, nothing of what it promises in theory... it undermines lasting attachments, mutual obligations, successful child-rearing, and sexual fidelity... and it undermines our belief in them...what it offers instead is a kind of institutionalized adolescence: a dream of free love..." (p. 81)

b. "from the proponents of cohabitation we hear that the state has no business interfering in people's private lives... the answer... is that the state has a manifest interest in promoting the kind of stability that rests on sound marriages and strong families. and so does each one of us..." (p. 81)

c. "illegitimacy is a major killer of american children...birth certificates lacking a father's name were strong predictors of infant death... even when they survive infancy, children born out of wedlock are more likely... to die young, to live in poverty, to be on welfare, to perpetuate a crime, to commit suicide, to drop out of the labor force, to leave school, and to have illegitimate children themselves..." (p. 83)

d. "not nearly enough fathers are meeting their commitments to their children... is that a reason to devalue fatherhood even more...' (p. 90)

e. "men and women bring different, complementary traits to child-rearing, and these differences... are not mere social constructions but are rooted in biology and the natural order of things... fathers... protect their children from the world... and protect the world from their children... are sources of discipline and strength, respect and admiration... the manly virtues..." (p. 91)

here, here...
support your family... work, play, pray, and go to church together...