Family/Faith

A family is commonly perceived as a unit created through marriage between a man and a woman. Regardless of various family structures and created new genders, EVERYONE COMES FROM A FAMILY and everyone belongs to a family. The traditional family is defined by www.dictionary.com as a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not, and a single-parent family as a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for. 

Family is not merely a beautiful unit, it is the backbone, the foundation of our community, our society, and our country. All leaders, all employees, all law enforcement officers, all medical professionals, and all politicians have a family or come from a family. Without strong empowerment of the family unit, much of what we treasure about our democratic societies, including human rights and human dignity, will begin to wither and die, like flowers cut from their roots. 

Likewise, if we turn away from the empowerment of the family unit to the empowerment of the parties, groups, organizations, and corporations much of what we treasure about our societal values, including, justice, freedom, community, and responsibility will continue to fade away and disappear like erosion of the land to strong waves and floods. Therefore, the family unit is the most important element in society because a family unit has a divine power to procreate, avoid crimes, boost the economy, and educate children. 

The family unit has a divine power to procreate. 

The Bible indicates that Adam and Eve were married, formed a family, and subsequently used the power of procreation to create men and women or the population of this earth. Nowadays, many democratic societies continue to preserve and use the same family unit to procreate after being legally and lawfully married. Likewise, men and women who choose to procreate without being legally and lawfully married are equally using the same power of procreation. 

A study by McLanahan and Percheski in 2008 noted that in 1960, only 6% of children in the United States lived with a single parent. Today over half of all children are expected to spend some time in a single-parent family before reaching age 18 (McLanahan & Percheski, 2008). Even though their study was not directly focused on being legally and lawfully wedded or even about the power to procreate, their study insinuates the truth that both wedded and unwed couples procreate. Also, their study indicates shifting from the traditional family to a single-parent family, which could be influenced by the way how we perceive and govern the virtue of our democracy. Thus, it is imperative to support needs of single-parent family units.

However, regardless of such indications and people's perception of the family units, all family units (traditional and single-parent) create people for our community, society, and country. With such an obligation to procreate it is fundamentally truthful to support the societal purpose of family units and promote innovative community programs to help all parents raise children. Therefore, when the government fully supported these family units, much of the government's responsibilities will be eased because parents will have the means to support, teach, and educate their children in the home setting to become good citizens and subsequently avoid crimes.           

The family unit has the cultural power to avoid crimes. 

The family unit in the home setting is a miniature government unit consisting of parents and children. In the setting of a home, parents have the power to freely develop cultural values for their children to learn, understand, and use to avoid corruption and misconduct behaviors. At one point on the Island of Hawaii, homes’ property lines were not guarded with gates or divided with fences. Parents of many families if not all leave the doors and windows of their homes open 24/7 as principal values of unity, trust, and equality. In the home setting, the teachings of the parents to their children were sufficient to influence the crime avoidance behavior of children in the community. 

Contrary, nowadays many families if not all barricade their homes’ property lines with tall fences and thick walls, coupled with installed iron gates and sophisticated cameras to safeguard people and property from perceived threats such as theft and trespass. Also, parents nowadays are shifting from using the teachings of family cultural values to avoid crimes to the use of physical safeguarding measures for avoiding crimes. Although these physical safeguarding measures bring peace of mind to families; these measures also communicate messages of divisive and promote a sense of inequality, which diminishes the essence of our democracy.

All family units of wedded or unwedded couples will have children and subsequently develop an unmatched family culture for their children such as: doing what is right when no one is watching, honoring your parents' teachings and legacies, and working hard has no substitute for victory, and valuing secular and religious education bring the power of knowledge and wisdom to individuals. 

According to Spencer and Lu’s study, “culture is a set of customs and traditions, beliefs and values, race and religion, and patterns of human behaviors, characteristics of everyday life shared by people in a place or time (Spencer and Lu, 2022).” Such a powerful statement implies incomparable advantages come from all family unit cultures to our community and society. Also, there are family units’ values and beliefs that are so powerful for the teaching and preparation of children's mortal life journey. 

Therefore, supporting and empowering all family units in our community and society enhance all parents' divine responsibility to teach their children, which will subsequently influence children's avoidance behaviors of crimes and thereby contribute to the enhancement of the economy. 

The family unit has the potential to boost the economy. 

When a new family unit is formed economy is further stimulated and empowered. Family units promote the economy by sharing many economical factors such as children, family values and beliefs, individual wisdom and knowledge, family business, and money with everybody else in society. In the United States of America, many families pioneered many inventions of which some families are known as automobile families, oil families, military families, farming families, and religious families. 

According to Williams and Baker’s study “family structure remains a dominant explanation for understanding racial inequality in poverty” of which “… married families are less likely to live below the poverty line compared to single-parent families … and that marriage provides economic benefits, and thus married-couple households possess greater resources than single-parent households (Williams & Baker, 2021).” Williams and Baker indicate that all families contribute something to our community, society, and country; however, married couples possess greater resources significant to the building of the economy. Although, their study suggests the need to empower and support single-family units, however, on the other hand, their study implies the importance to cultivate and support the structure of the traditional family. 

Likewise, it is absolutely vital to support single-parent families because the idea of democracy could have influenced them to be in these single-parent families' circumstances. It is critically important to empower all family units because they are the foundation of our society and the outcomes of our democratic government. Therefore, these family units are the miniature government in the home setting whose values and beliefs avoid crimes, and whose teachings and legacies became the fueling agent for moving forward our economy and promoting quality education for our children.

The family unit has a strong bond for motivating and empowering children’s education. 

All family units and family structures have an unparallel bond of life as a greater source of motivation and empowerment for children's learning and educational pursuits. According to Cary and Babik study’s “… American culture values independence, self-expression, and creativity, therefore, cultural values shape parenting practices, which, in turn, influence children’s academic achievement in math and science (Cary & Babik, 2021)”. Cary and Babik’s statement indicates that all family units and their influence on children’s education matter in the development and leadership of our community, society, and our country! 

I have learned over the years growing up in a family that consisted of my father and mother and my siblings that parents are the number one source of motivation for children’s education. This can be true for all family units regardless of social status and political background. Therefore, when we focus on supporting all family units we are preserving our democracy, supporting our liberty, and preparing our children as future leaders of our free society.      

The long-lasting effect of the COVID-19 pandemic confirms that all family units at home are a great source of peace, freedom, liberty, and happiness. The negative impacts of inflation affect all people, spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally and the number one source for them to turn to for peace and comfort is their family members. 

Given the magnitude of the importance of the family units in society during this COVID-19 and inflation, it indicates that all families are particularly vulnerable to governmental mandates, party system hidden agenda, and abuse of government power. It is heartbroken to see the terrible and frightening conditions among so many of those who are seeking life and basic needs from the COVID-19 pandemic and the abuse of government power to diminish our democracy during emergencies. 

Therefore, all families are to be cared for with truthful leadership of transparency and accountability, and empowered with affordable homes, job security, food sustainability, innovative emergency plans, and quality education because all family units big or small, poor or rich inherit cultural values and beliefs significantly essential for the sustaining of our government, preserving our democracy, avoiding crimes, stimulating the economy, and promoting quality education, and building local authentic industry needed by the State of Hawaii and its residents.