Marriage and the Traditional Family: The World Turned Upside Down

Part 1 of 3

INTRODUCTION

When George Washington accepted the surrender of British General Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781, a British band played the tune, “The World Turned Upside Down,” most likely in a condescending and patronizing manner. You see, the British were upset that the world’s greatest Army and Navy had been defeated by such a ragtag assortment of what were, for the most part, ordinary farmers or tradesmen turned into upstart citizen soldiers. Indeed, the American victory was a stunning turn of events. But in things of a social and cultural nature, the Americans didn’t do much to revolutionize their heritage. (1)

In recent years however we have suffered an astonishing onslaught of our cultural and historical heritage. A great cultural revolution, which began at least as far back as the fifties, has changed much of the social landscape. The age-old institution of marriage has also suffered greatly and is in danger of being redefined out of existence.

That war continues. It is raging right now in the United States-the war against western culture and the family-but this is a war which is not being fought with soldiers, guns, tanks, planes, or paratroopers. It is an ideological war and is fought with ideological bullets.

Those fighting against the family seek to demoralize American society and turn it into a moral wasteland. They are warring against all the “wisdom that has come to men through their ages of experience,” and are seeking to “overturn and destroy the very foundations upon which society, government and religion rest.”(2)

Several years back, one of those ideological bullets was fired by an opponent of the family-a vice-president of Volvo Cars North America, a division of Ford Motor Company, when he offered a reason why the company would fund certain homosexual groups which promote homosexual marriage:

For us, it was very natural to address gay families. We’re targeting people with modern day values. It’s a value set and the Volvo-minded consumer is very diverse. ‘Family’ is much more than the traditional family. (3)

On the opposite side, a defender of traditional families stated:

The union of husband and wife assures perpetuation of the race and provides a divinely ordained setting for the nurturing and teaching of children. This sacred family setting, with father and mother and children firmly committed to each other and to righteous living, offers the best hope for avoiding many of the ills that afflict society. (4)

This series will examine this cultural warfare against the family and try to explain to the reader how alternative family constellations and alternative life-style choices are contrary to the best interests of the traditional family, community, state and nation. At this point a disclaimer needs to be presented-the evidence I provide will not be exhaustive nor comprehensive, or even qualify as an overview-it is merely a brief exploration into a broad and expansive subject.

SOURCE OF LAW

One of the things that a well-ordered civilized society needs is law. Law which is either inherent in the nature of things (natural law) or law as given by God, Divine or revealed. (5) It’s pretty easy to determine the source of Divine law-that of God as revealed to his Prophets-but somewhat more difficult to determine the source of Natural Law. However, God so structured the world, that in the absence of Divine Law, man was not left alone to determine how man-made law should apply to govern society or to protect freedom. (6) But even this man-made law, in order for it be just, had to be built upon the foundation of natural or revealed law. In other words, man merely discovered law–that which was moral and just–and applied those principles in the enacting of law. (7) For instance, God provided man the ability to reason (8) intellectually, (9) and feel intuitively (10) the proper course to guide one’s actions and in the enacting of man-made laws.

So then, in the United States in regard to marriage and the law, the traditional idea of marriage as consisting of a man and a woman and any children (or none, if the wife is barren) appears to have both a “natural law” and a Divine mandate. It is a crime against nature, for instance, for men to leave “the natural use of the woman” and seek relationships of “men with men working that which is unseemly.” (11) We also hear the admonition of David, that “whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing,” (12) and of Jeremiah counseling Israel to, “Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.”(13)

Since marriage between a man and a woman is “ordained of God,” and has a Divine mandate, one might infer that attempts by man to alter the definition of marriage or to substantially alter family law, or the “forms” of marriage, or to simply disregard God and his teachings regarding marriage, might have drastic consequences. What may befall our nation when the family law itself is moving toward focusing on “functional parenthood” rather than recognizing the role of biological parenthood? Or that family law be reconstituted, go “beyond conjugality,” and focus on the “substance of relationships,” and that alternative relationships must be put on a level playing field with that of traditional marriage? (14) The Bible tells us that it is “righteousness” which “exalteth a nation.” Perhaps it is this righteousness, or the lack thereof, that Col. Mason, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, had in mind when he lamented the fact that the new Constitution would not abolish slavery:

As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes & effects providence punishes national sins, by national calamities. (15)

Calamities certainly happened anciently when man disregarded God and the sacredness of the institution of marriage–witness the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Or witness the fall of the great Roman Empire due, to summarize the work of the historian Edward Gibbon, to a rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society. (16)

Traditional marriage is also firmly rooted and grounded in Common law and early statutory state law. At three early court cases, Vidal v. Girard’s Executors, (17) People v. Ruggles, (18) and Updegraph v. Commonwealth (19) demonstrate how the Bible and the basic principles of morality derived thereof were part of that law. Furthermore, these decisions illustrate the belief of the judiciary of the time that these principles of the Bible and basic morality, when enacted into law, tend to strengthen civil government and the sacredness of traditional family relationships.

Causes of the Current Family Crisis

While this paper will not address, except for a short digression, the causes of the current cultural revolution against traditional families and marriages, it is instructive to note that chief among the enemies of the traditional family are those who adhere to the ideology of Marx and Lenin. For instance, many of the past and present leaders of the feminist (such as Bella Abzug, Shulamith Firestone, Gloria Steinham, and others) (20) and the homosexual (Harry Hay, Dennis Altman, Marshall Kirk, Erastus Pill, and others) (21) movements are, or were, Marxist. Karl Marx himself called for the “abolition of the family,” in the Communist Manifesto, (22) so it should come as no surprise that an expert on Marxism, testified before Congress in 2003 that, “the planned destruction of the family was part of the communist agenda from its inception by Karl Marx and Frederic Engels.”(23)

In a boast, Michael Walzer, bragged about some of the battles that Marxists have won in their war against family and western culture. For instance he bragged that through their efforts there has been, among other things he named, a “visible impact of feminism,” an “emergence of gay rights politics, and . . . the attention paid to it in the media,” “the transformation of family life, [including] rising divorce rates, changing sexual mores, new household arrangements-and, again, the portrayal of all this in the media,” and the “legalization of abortion.”(24)

While Marxism is an ideology in which men believe, it is also crucial to understand that it is also a conspiracy in which men participate. (25) Understanding this aspect of Marxism is vital to understanding: their tactics and strategy; (26) their use of agent provocateurs to provoke change in society and culture; and to gain the information vital to those seeking to oppose these Marxist change agents and their diabolical plans.

I mention all of this so that those who are seeking to preserve traditional families might get a better understanding of the enemy they are fighting. For the primary movers, or activists, seeking to abolish the family adhere to the ideology of Marx and Lenin. They seek to establish moral anarchy. Since the “perfect classless society” will supposedly be established upon the ashes of chaos and anarchy, moral anarchy is the goal. A “psy-ops war” is being conducted against us then, where infidelity, atheism, moral licentiousness, intemperance, civil corruption, greed, avarice, and ambition-personal, political, and national-are glorified and promoted-all in an effort to weaken us and our will to resist. The casualties in this war include not only their victims but those who have been pulled and thrust into new fields of action-hence the Marxist “peaceniks” have now mutated into environmental and North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) activists-and new lines of thought-the moral relativists mutating into the worship of “self-esteem“, a belief in aliens, magic and “new age” psychology. These activists are shaking the faith, undermining morals, and polluting the lives of their victims who are then thrown so far off balance in their activities-economic, social, political and religious-that civilized society stands in danger of being overthrown. (27)

Further, the harm done by these social activists is not limited to those areas where they seek to advance “avant garde,” or “vanguard of the proletariat,” lifestyles and alternative family relationships. One study suggests that the influence of Marxist socialism and resultant socialist programs they are able to get governments to adopt, is enough by itself to deteriorate the family. For instance, that study suggests that the welfare state in Sweden has stripped the family of the economic benefits of having children, promoted lower fertility rates, and greater dependency upon paternal or “big brother government“:

While a nation’s family system may reorganize, for a time, around the nuclear “husband-wife” unit of reproduction, even that basis of independence eventually dissolves. The end result of state intervention is progressively diminished fertility, with living individuals left standing alone in a dependent relationship with the government. (28)
Further, socialistic intervention by government is often, and I would argue that it is usually, harmful. As one religious leader observed:

There are those who would define the family in such a nontraditional way that they would define it out of existence. The more governments try in vain to take the place of the family, the less effective governments will be in performing the traditional and basic roles for which governments are formed in the first place. (29)

In other words, if the traditional and proper role of government is to protect citizens in their life, liberty and property, (30) it becomes less effective the more it assumes a paternal role in society.

Marxism, in all its variants, is an enemy to the United States, western society and culture, and contrary to reports otherwise, is not dead but is instead actively engaged in seeking to destroy our society, culture, legal institutions, including those most fundamental to preserving a free society–marriage and the family. This understanding is vital to those interested in preserving these institutions.

Endnotes

1. Bentley, Christopher S. “The Assault on Marriage.” The New American Magazine. 2005. American Opinion Publishing Incorporated. 21 Apr. 2006 http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/article_203.shtml.
2. Montgomery, Steven R. “Glasnost-Perestroika: Marxist-Leninist Holy War.” Glasnost-Perestroika Index . 1999. The Perfect Law of Liberty. 21 Apr. 2006 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/4516/gp/mlhw.html.
3. “AFA, 20 Other Pro-Family Organizations Call For One-Year Boycott of Ford Motor Company.” BoycottFord.com. 2005. American Family Association |. 21 Apr. 2006 http://www.boycottford.com.
4. First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Same Gender Marriage.” Official Internet Site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2006. Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 21 Apr. 2006 http://www.lds.org/newsroom/issues/answer/0,19491,6056-1-202-4-202,00.html.
5. See for example this statement from William Blackstone, “Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of revelation, depend all human laws. . .” William Blackstone, as quoted by Hall, Verna M. (1975). The Christian History of the United States Constitution. Bicentennial ed. United States: Foundation for American Christian Education. 235.
6. Romans 2: 14-15. “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another” The Reverend John J. Zubly, for instance, in a speech given on July 4, 1775, paraphrased Romans 2:14-15 in stating, “To the generality of mankind he gave no written law, but yet left not himself without a witness among them; the words of the law were written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while excusing or else accusing one another: It cannot be said they were without the law, whilst that they were to do, and what they were to forbear, was written in their hearts. (John J. Zubly, D.D., The Law of Liberty, a speech given before the Provincial Congress of Georgia, July 4, 1775, as quoted by Hall, Verna M. 1975. The Christian History of the American Revolution, Foundation for American Christian Education, San Francisco, 1975, p. 515)
7. “Kings and parliaments did not make law. . . they discovered what was the law and promulgated it.” Carson, Clarence B. (1970). The American Tradition. Irvington on Hudson: Foundation for Economic Education. 40.
8. “The essence of law does not depend upon words and clauses, inserted in a code or statute book, much less upon the conclusion and explications of lawyers; but upon reason and the nature of things antecedent to all laws” Trenchard and Gordon, as quoted by Wood, S., Gordon. The Creation Of The American Republic, 1776-1787. Chapel Hill: Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture at Williamsburg, Va. P. 456.
9. 4 Maccabees 1:48 “For in the day when God created man, he implanted in him his passions and inclinations, and also, at the very same time, set the mind on a throne amidst the senses to be his sacred guide in all things. . .”
10. This ability to intuitively discern moral law is sometimes known as the conscience. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would say that it is through what is known to them as the “Light of Christ” that these abilities are manifest. See for example, Moroni 7:15-17 which states, “For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given unto every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to to evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.”
11. Romans 1:26-27
12. Proverbs 18:22
13. Jeremiah 29:6
14. Council on Family Law. 2005. The Future of Family Law: Law and the Marriage Crisis in North America. Washington D.C.: Institute for Marriage and Public Policy.
15. Mason, Col. 1787. Quoted by Madison, James. “Madison Debates.” The Avalon Project. 29 Dec. 1998. Yale Law School. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/822.htm.
16. Gibbon, Edward. The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,.
17. “The purest principles of morality are to be taught. Where are they found? Whoever searches for them must go to the source from which a Christian man derives his faith–the Bible.” Vidal v. Girard’s Executors, 43 U.S. (2 How.) 127, 11 L.Ed. 205.
18. “Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity tends manifestly to the dissolution of civil government.” People v. Ruggles, 8 Johns. R. 290 N.Y. 1811.
19. “[Christianity] is and always has been part of the common law of Pennsylvania.” Updegraph v. Commonwealth, 11 Serg. & Rawle, 394 Penn. 1824
20. These Last Days Ministries. “Marxist roots of radical feminism.” These Last Days Ministries. 19 Mar. 2005. These Last Days Ministries, Inc. 10 Apr. 2006 http://www.tldm.org/news5/radical.htm. See also Roberts, Carey. “Feminist utopia, social nightmare.” Renew America. 18 Jan. 2005. Carey Roberts. 22 Apr. 2006 http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/roberts/050118. As well as O’Leary, Dale. “Feminism.” EWTN, Global Catholic Network. 1994. Trinity Communications. 10 Apr. 2006 http://www.ewtn.com/library/ISSUES/FEMINISM.TXT.

21. Traditional Values Coalition. ” Homosexuality 101: A Primer.” Traditional Values Coalition. 2005. Traditional Values Coalition. 10 Apr. 2006 http://traditionalvalues.org/.
22. Marx, Karl, Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto. New York, NY: Signic Classic, 1998.
23. Wood, Bill. “Hearing Archives :Committee on Ways & Means :: U.S. House of Representatives :.” Committee on Ways & Means. 22 Apr. 2006 http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=view&id=954.
24. Michael Walzer, as quoted by Griggs, William N. “The New American – Toward the Total State – July 5, 1999.” The New American Magazine. 5 July 1999. American Opinion Publishing Incorporated. 22 Apr. 2006 http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1999/07-05-99/vo15no14_total.htm.
25. See for example: Robison, John. Proofs Of A Conspiracy Against All The Religions And Governments Of Europe Carried On In The Secret Meetings Of Freemasons, Illuminati And Reading Societies. City: Kessinger Publishing, 2003; Barruel. Memoirs Illustrating The History Of Jacobinism. City: Real-View-Books, 1995; Billington, H., James. Fire In The Minds Of Men. City: Basic Books, 1983.
26. It is also instructive to note the influence these change agents had upon pre-war Germany and the Nazi Party. See for instance, Lively, Scott, Kevin Abrams. The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party. City: Veritas Aeterna, 2002. See also Lively, Scott. Homosexuality and the Nazi Party. 13 July 2003. Leadership U. 22 Apr. 2006 http://www.leaderu.com/jhs/lively.html.
27. Montgomery, Steven. Op Cite
28. Carlson, Allen. ” What Has Government Done to Our Families? – Mises Institute.” Mises Institute. 2003. 22 Apr. 2006 http://www.mises.org/story/1406.
29. Kimball, Spencer W. Conference Report, October 4, 1980.
30. ‘That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression.” Alabama State Constitution. Art. I Sec 35