Family S.A.

Author: Padre Alejandro Cortés González-Báez  

 

 

In the past few decades we have seen the transformation of the family; to be precise, the transformation of some families. We understand that the family is an institution primarily formed by a father, a mother and their children. Within this framework, there are also other relatives: grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. It may also include in a socio-humanistic understanding people who may work and be included in the circle of the family. But it seems today that a family as taken on the appearance of a "corporation", somewhat absurd, with members having all sorts of names and functions. Family has become the environment "par excellent" where each individual is more important than the whole.

When society has become dependent on the mutterings of popular culture, of people in sports, actors, singers, daily readings of the horoscope; when mothers stop praying and occupy their time instead by going to gambling casinos and watching soap operas; when football totally consumes the fathers of families who abrogate the responsibility of raising their children to their spouses, then it should not surprise us that countries head towards ruin in a freefall.
Social chaos ranging from criminal violence to vicious cycles of addiction, of alcohol, of drugs, of other forms like wanton licentiousness are varied and complex Much of the blame lies with political public figures, who have traded in the public good for their own personal interests, legislators who promote and approve laws that are against Life and that promote the break-up of the family. Organizations promoting "health" end up promoting sexual promiscuity. Not often does one hear of adultery and the children born out of family unit.

Corporations are guilty, eschewing an economic model based on justice to raise the standard of living for their workers, concentrating of increasing their own compensations. But sadly it is the father of the family who is most damaging, unprepared to be effective role models for their children, "improvising" their children's upbringing.
Our crisis are not one of values, but one of virtues. The ones which come to light, the ones that are learned in the daily routines based on positive, kind intentions.

Sundays are no longer the Day of the Lord, to become instead The Day of the Endless Sports Events.**

Pragmatism and functionality vie for solutions in politics, ecology, and economy, totally abandoning the human dimension and having little success in finding solutions.

There are things to be learned from business: the importance of having well-defined long-term strategies as well as tools to assess the profit and loss of our children's daily upbringing, in short, our accountability and not to wiat for this information years after our children have left the home.