Show 1611 The Breakdown of the Family. A Four Part Series By The Glenn Beck Program Listen to all Glenn Beck serials at http://www.glennbeck.com/category/serials  This The American family is the backbone of society. If you believe in the Bible, you know that after God created Adam and Eve, he commanded them to have children. From the beginning, the ideal family included a biological mother and father to both be in the home, raising their children together. By removing God from our public discourse and breaking down the family unit, progressives have damaged and weakened society. This series explores how the traditional family unit is statistically superior for people and society — and the devastating impact of secularism and liberal policies. The Breakdown of the Family Part I: The Children In 1950, 75 percent of black families were two-parent homes. A strong family unit was the backbone of black America. Three out of four children had both parents at home. Today, 73 percent of black families are not traditional family units. Most black children now grow up without fathers. The result is a world turned upside down as children copy what they see and repeat what they learn. While the black family has been the hardest hit, by no means is it the only segment to suffer. The American family of every race, every ethnicity, continues to disintegrate as virtually no one steps up to address the problems and propose solutions. Since 1980, the marriage rate has dropped 45 percent and 41 percent of children are born to unmarried mothers (73 percent in the black community). Fatherless or single-parent homes produce children who are two times more likely to be arrested for juvenile crime and twice as likely to be treated for emotional and behavioral problems. They are also 33 percent more likely to drop out of school and three times more likely to end up in jail by age 30. This isn’t to say that single moms can’t be fantastic loving parents or single dads are just not capable of raising wonderful, well-adjusted, highly successful kids — because they can and they do. Grandparents can and do wonderful child-rearing. Same-sex couples certainly love their children. And sometimes the ideal family unit, for whatever reason, just is not possible. But in general, where possible, traditional family units produce the best results, consistently, over decades of studies. Could it be that biologically a woman brings certain traits and skills to child-rearing that a man doesn’t, and vice-versa? And is it just possible that that combination leads to the most well adjusted, highest functioning human beings? Listen to all serials at glennbeck.com/serials The Breakdown of the Family Part II: The Cause What caused the destruction of the American family? In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced the War On Poverty. Twenty-two trillion dollars later, that battlefield is lined with remnants of broken American families. Huge government welfare and indoctrination programs have contributed to dependency, stripping people of dignity, raising unemployment and enslaving three generations of American citizens. Also taking a toll on the American family was the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Progressives told women they couldn’t be fulfilled by staying home with their children. The movement also had strong anti-men sentiments. After the women’s movement, society and culture changed. With two working parents, children were often left with caregivers or on their own. In 2008, ABC reported that three-quarters of American girls would become pregnant that year. Even many liberals understood many years ago that the family is the building block of civilization. If it crumbles, so does civilization. Yet far too many Americans have been swallowed up in political correctness. Today, society will tolerate virtually any substitution for the traditional family unit in the name of tolerance. But tolerance is only one side of the coin. The other side is truth. Without both