Raising Children

Many arguements against same sex marriage include this one: children should be raised by a man and woman for the best results.

So I began wondering what is the best environment to raise a child. What will produce the best member of society?

First, I looked at whether or not it was the man, woman, two and a half kids with a dog theory. I used myself as an example.

The results: active member of society who will be attending college with a basis of morals and manners despite not being exposed to religion.

I am the complete contradiction to the "ideal family" theory. So what makes a child's upbringing successful? Family values.

Before you attack, I said family values. I did not say family quota (man, woman, two and a half kids with a dog.)

A person will grow up with morals if they are taught them. It requires the parent to have values to teach. For me, these values did not come from religion, but my parents. I will pass them on to any child I should raise. Who teaches these values best? Those with values. So one requirement for a successful upbringing is being raised by a parent with values.

Is that all? Maybe. Being active in the community is a good quality to have. Does this come from a parent who is active in the community? In my case, no. I developed it on my own it seems. My parents even discourage me occassionally (they think I do too much). So the values must extend a sense of duty to community.

What else? Why didn't I end up repressed and anti-social? I admit I was close at some points. I could easily distrust the world around me and isolate myself from pain that so many others have done. Why didn't I? My parents loved and cared for me so that when I entered those moments of anti-social behavior the urges for isolation were countered. Family values make helping those you love a natural instinct. If they hadn't had those family values, I could have ended up the wreckage so many other kids become.

I could go on with example after example but I think the reality speaks for itself. We want family values in this country, not quotas. It is a moral code that makes our society great, not a stereotype utopia.