Editor’s Note: This essay was written earlier in my academic life and is presented here without substantive revision.

When, in the course of human events, a crisis develops which threatens the very well-being of a group of people and even an entire nation, it falls upon them to take action with the intent of preserving their way of life. When the British were unjustly taxing our population we revolted, when we saw the inherent immorality of human slavery, we put a stop to it, and when Hitler was committing genocide via the holocaust, we righteously rose up and smote him. Why, then, do we sit and let this newer calamity go unchecked? I am talking, of course, about the breakdown of family, and more importantly, family values in our nation. Erera (2002) quotes Coontz and Jagger & Wright as saying: Family breakdown – namely the high divorce rates, the decline of the two-parent married family, and the increase in family diversity — has been blamed for everything from child poverty, declining educational standards, substance abuse, high homicide rates, AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), infertility, and teen pregnancy.

America is quickly becoming a nation of single mothers, burdens of society themselves, who let their children run wild and become thugs, thieves and drug dealers. Even our nuclear families are letting their children fall by the wayside, becoming alcoholics and addicts. Add to this the growing number of homosexuals and non-Christians who have children, spreading their unwholesome lifestyles and liberalism like the plague, and anyone should be able to see that we, as a nation, must do something. I propose that we institute a new government office, called the Ministry of Family (Minifam for short), which would have several responsibilities in its oversight of the American family. 

The first and main responsibility of the Ministry Family would be the regulation of pregnancy. In order for a legal pregnancy to occur, the prospective parents would have to go to a Minifam office to acquire a pregnancy permit, which would be good for up to three months and the entirety of pregnancy, should pregnancy occur. There would be specific criteria to be considered before anyone could be approved for such a permit, which would include, but not be limited to: Marriage, proper sexual orientation, biological qualifications, economic status, intent to raise the child in a positive environment, intent to raise the child with a good and morally oriented mindset, positive religious adherence, and positive views on society, politics, and the government. This list could be changed, so that a pregnancy permit is easier to obtain, as it is not necessarily the pregnancy which will determine a child’s future. Also, consideration should be made for permanent pregnancy licenses, in case there is a sharp decline in the population.  Upon approval for her permit and during the entirety of her pregnancy, the mother would be interred at a special pregnancy hospital, which would be regulated by Minifam, in order to ensure the well-being of the fetus. At this hospital the mother would be under constant surveillance, her meals and activities would be regulated, and she would be taught the proper way to be a mother and to raise children. She will also be studied for any abnormalities, unwholesome thoughts or ideas which could be detrimental to the  mental or moral health of the child. 

When she is released from this hospital, if she is still deemed fit to be a mother, she will be directed back to her local Minifam office to request that her pregnancy permit be upgraded to a family license. All the above criteria for a pregnancy permit would apply to the family license, however, strict adherence to said criteria is a must, and I do not believe that anything should be removed from the list, as it is intended to weed out those prospective parents who do not have the proper qualifications for raising children who are morally conscious. 

Of all of these qualifications for a family license, marriage is the most important. As Wilson (2002) states, “Marriage is a socially arranged solution for the problem of getting people to stay together and care for children that the mere desire for children, and the sex that makes children possible, does not solve” (pp 376). No unmarried persons shall be granted a family license, although it may be made possible for an unmarried woman to receive a pregnancy permit or license. Marriage is vital to the raising of a family, since no mother shall be permitted to work as long as she is caring for any children who are not of working age. Because mothers will not be working while they are raising their children, all prospective fathers will have to prove to Minifam that they have a steady income of an amount which is deemed sufficient to support a family. Of course, since there will undoubtedly be some cases of illegal pregnancy (which can be terminated if it is deemed that the child has no hope of a decent future due to biological problems) and birth-mothers who are denied their family license upgrade, Minifam will run programs which encourage couples wherein the wife is either unfit for a pregnancy license (due to biological problems) or unable to become pregnant to acquire a non-biological family license. Illegal pregnancy, of course, will be punishable by law, and incur a penalty of no less than two years in prison. Permanent pregnancy licenses should be made available, if only in times of need, for the purposes of reproducing children for people who can maintain a family license but cannot become pregnant for whatever reason. 

Now we must come to the issue of how Minifam will enforce family values. It will be required that a Minifam representative visit the home of each family at least one time every three months. This visitation would preferably be random, and include interviews with not only the parents and children, but also of neighbors and possibly even schoolteachers. Any negative findings should be filed under the family’s name at the Ministry of Family, and could have an impact on their license renewal application. If severe problems are encountered within a family the Minifam representative will be authorized to remove children from the parent’s care and revoke their license by any means necessary. 

In order to promote family values, and also to make sure that each family is made aware of how to properly conduct their family business, a special television set will be required to be owned by each family. This television will only be able to pick up signals broadcast by Minifam with the intent of helping the family learn more about how to be an upright and good family. It is possible, even, to install cameras in these TV sets so that Minifam can more easily monitor their activities. 

Some people may argue that families shouldn’t be governed or monitored like this, but to them I say that if they are good and moral people capable of raising decent children then they have nothing to hide and shouldn’t be worried about it. The ones who will make the loudest outcry about this bold new policy are the ones trying to subjugate our family values as Americans in the first place. For the security and happiness of our nation we must do something about our family life. We can’t have immoral parents raising immoral children to be rapists, murderers and thieves. American family is in a downward spiral; if we act now, we can save our families. 

References

Erera, P. (2002). What is a family? In M. L. Kennedy, W. J. Kennedy, & H. M. Smith, 

Writing in the disciplines: A reader for writers (5th ED.). (pp. 350-366). Upper 

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall 

Wilson, J. (2002). Cohabitation instead of marriage. In M. L. Kennedy, W. J. Kennedy, & H. M. Smith, Writing in the disciplines: A reader for writers (5th ED.). (pp373- 

376). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall