Republicans spent one night last week debating. Not that there is anything peculiar with this idea...it is an election season; debates are happening all of the time. But what is unique is about the venue which broadcast the debate: Univision, a Spanish language media company serving the U.S. One of the candidates, Tom Tancredo (who??!!), refused to participate because the debate was being translated into Spanish. Many of the candidates refused to participate in honestly answering questions about immigration, although they did show up for the debate. And whereever a bunch of Rebublicans show up, so do conservative values. One comment from the debate that struck me was Fred Thompson's emphasis on "traditional family values." I am so sick of this label! It is always used to speak condescendingly about any family that doesn't represent the mainstream, middle-class, heterosexual family. I went out searching for what "traditional families" and "traditional values" looked like.
Traditional family rhetoric has targeted a range of different families, but most often single parent (mostly single mom) families and GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered) families. But there is always a focus on the "demise of the traditional family. When families fit outside the "traditional family" definition, it is often assumed the child (children) are at a disadvantage behaviorally, emotionally, educationally, etc. I think this is completely ignorant thinking.
For many who argue for "traditional family values" (TFV), it is the "gay agenda" that is breaking down the core of traditional families. The American Family Association is one of the most powerful groups in the discussion of TFV. They proudly espouse the slogan:
A political depiction, appealing to the traditional American family for the traditional American vote:
Another label synonymous with TFV is the "sanctity of marriage." Another statement targeted at any family where the traditional marriage is not represented. Single parent families and non-traditional families (live-in families, communal living, GLBT families) are again attacked as breaking down that conservatives will tout as the foundation of American freedom and safety.
Here is a great video about the traditional family to use as a drinking game. Every time you hear the word family, take a drink. By the end of the video you might be so drunk you won't throw your computer across the room.
