In an attempt to rebut Sen. Hillary Clinton’s bestselling book, It Takes a Village, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) will offer It Takes A Family: Conservatism And The Common Good this summer.
I have read neither of these two books, but to be perfectly honest, based on title alone, Sen. Clinton’s book is more biblical than Sen. Santorum’s. Jesus did not call his followers to live isolated from the community in which they lived. Rather, he called them to live a radically inclusive lifestyle where the community played a primary role in spiritual growth and learning.
Why should it be any different for our children? While certainly the family, due to its proximity to children, plays a primary role in raising them (especially when they are young), the larger community also must play an important role (especially when they are older).
And certainly, if the family is isolated from the larger community, or if the larger community influences both family and child in a negative manner, or even if the larger community does not create an environment which allows the family to provide the necessities of life, then this child’s upbringing will be insufficient.
The Republican party’s over-emphasis on the “personal” rather than the “corporate” is completely non-Biblical, and as such, isn’t a family value I wish to teach my children.
February 21st, 2005 at 2:34 pm
This is what is wrong with Blogging - you haven’t read either book and comment on them both.
February 21st, 2005 at 4:14 pm
That’s the right-wing spirit, JP. Don’t bother to actually comment on what I have to say, rather just launch an ad hominem attack on me personally and blogging in general!