In The Sociological Tradition, Robert Nisbet referred to the Industrial and French Revolutions as the two great ideas of the western world. No two events so dramatically altered civilization as significantly, their temporal overlap only intensifying their effects.
If the two Revolutions are the two great ideas of the Western world, then the third great idea must be birth control. No innovation has fundamentally altered the premises of civilization quite like birth control.
While liberals believe the central unit of life is the individual, conservatives believe that it is the family unit. We are not a civilization of individuals, we are a civilization of families, with the family unit being the foundational brick on which civilization is built.
The traditional family unit is predicated on the following biological premises: Men have an unlimited supply of sperm, and biologically speaking, can never truly know if they are the father of a child. The child may bear a strong resemblance to the man perceived to be the father, but for all he knows, it could be someone else. Therefore, men look to reproduce WIDELY. Women, on the other hand, have a finite number of eggs. The clock is ticking for women, and time eventually runs out on their reproductive years when they reach menopause. From a biological perspective, sex will lead to pregnancy, which is a high-cost long-term enterprise. Women bear the cost of pregnancy more so than men, therefore sex is costlier to women. This high cost means women must be selective with whom they reproduce, so women look to reproduce WISELY….
The above comes from a Dec. 1 story on the site of The Imaginative Conservative.
I’m not a medical professional. My rudimentary understanding is a simple DNA test will prove conclusively if a man is the father or not.
The article is very true, but on the other hand men who fool around take serious risks also. I have known about doctors and other well educated people who have gotten herpes and worse, and even died from some of the diseases contacted. The old proverb “You play, you pay” is as true now as it ever was. Men in good marriages live longer lives, too, on the average.
That is probably the case in most incidences, but if the child’s father is a close relative, or a twin, of the other man, it might be hard to determine, I am not sure if the test would be 100% correct in those situations, and some countries might not have DNA testing yet.
This post of mine was in answer to Mike M’s first post.
We do not need scientific documents on birth control and sex. People today, need a more mature understanding of sex, as simply a part of a lifelong Marriage to your beloved spouse! We need the return of our traditional Judeo-Christian society, with morals, etiquette, and customs, surrounding dating and marriage. Young people should be taught the traditional roles of men and women, and proper etiquette, morals, and customs for dating, choice of a good marriage partner for life, engagement, and planning the Wedding, with both families involved. to help. The couple begins their conjugal life on their Honeymoon. No birth control, Self-Control, and NFP training, must be the norm!
My beloved mother was intelligent, creative, and well-educated. She had a highly successful part-time career! Throughout her life, she had many offers for career advancement. But she rejected them all! She loved her fine, creative work– and had no interest in ego, money, fame, etc. All things have a natural limit and a balance, in life. And Marriage and Family always came first, no matter what, for my mother! The Family Home, with lots of love– is always “Number One!”
I will say one final thing, about my mother.
Long ago, in her time, she believed that only a few could aspire to a truly fine education, and be truly accomplished in their field, and contribute to their society. She was raised in an era of traditional, classical education– before modern science became prominent, in academia, and in society. She felt that in certain cases, many in academia– (in the U.S.) — were very mediocre, too liberal, too easily led by new ideas, impractical, lacked a solid tradition and fouundation in their field– and lacked wisdom and a deep and true understanding of their field, and of their role, as intellectual leaders in society.
As applicable to this “social science” article, by “experts”– you cannot separate sex, marriage, birth control, and related subjects– from morality, in real life! And you cannot mislead people– morality, and respect for God– must be the foundation of all you do, in life, and your contributions to society must be based on this important truth!
The family– never the individual!– is the core of society, and of civilization! When individuals seek after money, greed, ego, endless competitive career advancement, and endless, self-centered personal fulfillment, marriages break down, families break down, and the individuals get stress-related diseases, and some even die! And children who are abandoned for parental “needs” suffer terribly! Traditional Marriage and Family, are truly the center of life! And for those who do not marry— they should always have a traditional, warm, loving family home to “come home” to– if they want! Stay a few days or a few months, even– go help Mom and Dad!
i suppose saint paul must have been a liberal, or at least per the criteria of the author, since he urged Christians to not form families. and as others ave pointed out, a simple blood test can determine with extreme accuracy, the paternity of the father. Qhat any of this nonsense has anything to do with catholic doctrine, let alone simple facts, is beyond me. Truly nutty post
“Birth Control”
as Fulton Sheen said:
it’s NOT about “Birth” and
it’s NOT about “Control”