Family Values

"Family Man"

Let us say, I want to read an issue of Playboy. My wife has no problem with that. Is that going to hurt my kids? Not really, I think.

I like to drink a glass of red Merlot wine with dinner in the evening. It is relaxing, satisfying and good for my heart. It is a "traditional" thing to do. If one day, my kid wants to have a taste, what would be wrong with giving him a glass too?

When some people talk about family values, they often mean bashing gays, putting more people in jail on drug charges, going to church every Sunday, eradicating pornography and reintroducing Prohibition.

An important issue is the balance between family and work. Although many people don't like to face that fact, today's societal model does not encourage family values. Family values do conflict with career aspirations and financial rewards.

Some people want the government to enforce a whole bunch of new regulations, which are supposed to "promote" family values. That scares me.

First of all, because their definition of family values does not usually agree with mine. But also because regulations are expensive, and cause the government deficit and national debt to go up. Eventually, it will be our kids who will have to pay for them.

In my view, the single most valuable legacy we can leave our kids, is a debt-free country. And the only way to achieve that, is through less rules and regulations, not more.

Although we don't like to put it hat way, today's societal model does not really encourage family values. Family values often conflict with career aspirations and financial rewards. They also conflict with the desire for independence.

I have never met anyone who was against family values.

values: lots of confusion. Don't know what all the fuss is about.

• key to happiness is making others happy
• value people
• be happy when others happy
• make sincere effort to make others happy
• don't judge
• analyze
• don't lie
• if something feels good, go for it, as long as it doesn't hurt yourself or others
• Educate yourself
• challenge yourself, strive to win, but don't take advantage of others, don't take enjoyment in destroying others
• legal does not mean right, right does not mean legal
• be personable
• enjoy life
• the key to long-term enjoyment of life, is moderation
• observe the law, especially in US (in Europe, it is mostly OK to observe only the laws that make sense)
• speak up
• if you do the above, feel good about yourself, don't let anybody ever tell you otherwise. It works!

Everybody is for family values. This is self-evident. The problem however, is how family values are defined. To many conservatives, family values has more to do with monogamy, no sex before marriage, drinking age and drug enforcement, than with the basic notion that people who want to raise a family, should be able to do so in decent conditions. Although we don't like to put it hat way, today's societal model does not really encourage family values. Family values often conflict with career aspirations and financial rewards. They also conflict with the desire for independence.

The best way to promote family values, is to make marriage more attractive. That does include making sure that married people have fun in bed. The last thing a married couple needs, is God watching in the bedroom.

Family values has nothing to do with sex or drugs or smoking. It simply means having dinner with Mom, Dad and the kids together.

The single best thing the government can do for families, is to make sure that the economy is good and taxes low. A good income is much more important to families than any kind of government help, or worse, rules and regulations.

We are not a family friendly society. We are a money friendly society. Economic achievement is really valued higher than family values. That is why many people choose to work harder rather than spend time with their kids.

Based on sociological research, the main concerns of Latin-American people are: family, happiness, love and friendship.

The main enemy of family values is money. Either the lack of money, or having too much money.

What benefits the economy (hard work, materialism and greed) tends to hurt family values.