Family or Individualism?

By Michael Knight

Sunday 14 June 2009

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Families are becoming a thing of the past for the majority of Australians, or so it seems.

The good ol' Aussie dream of a young couple in love buying a house, having children, living and working in harmony, feeling happy and secure in their new family home and relationship, at least until the children have grown up, is on its way to becoming extinct.

Roll on individualism.

A new swag of people X,Y,Z Generation or whatever academics want to name these social groups, have been weighing up the downside of getting hitched and having children, and guess what? From what I hear and see, there doesn't seem to be a lot of value or happiness for them to take the plunge, and of course, who could blame them in light of how society and governments have allowed the easy obliteration of marriage and the precious beauty of family to fall apart. It all seems so pointless.

It appears many adults today whom were the product of broken families as children, are too scared to have children when they are young and in love, the natural way to start a family, for fear of causing to their children the pain and misery, they had bestowed upon their tiny shoulders and minds as children.

Alternatively, these adults choose to wait many years until they feel safe, secure and prepared enough to take the risk, or if they do at all. But alas, by then it maybe chronologically too late for many, plus not in a shall we say a natural setting of love, but more of a rushed prearranged I want or think I should have some children scenario. Urrkk...who wants to puke with me. Seriously, I couldn't think of anything worse.

Of course women don't always have the luxury of time on their side with their biological clock ticking away, and time travels a whole lot faster after the age of thirty-five and forty, putting a bucket load of stress on a woman to find a man, fall in love or pretend to, and then hope she can fall pregnant because it's one of the last things on her shopping list before the clock runs out. And if she can't find the the right man then there's always the online sperm available for a modest fee, but hey seriously, is that really a family? A no fuss, ready made home seminal delivery service, just like ordering pizza. I'll pass thanks.

Sheesh... It shouldn't be this way! It's totally not fair period!

And as for the guys, what's in it for them to have a family? These days, I'm afraid there's not alot. Gee.. now I'm sounding cynical. I can feel a pros and cons list coming on.

Society and all its many pearls of wisdom could safeguard the family from a wretched breakdown, insulating and softening the blow to all family members if a Separation must eventuate, however the truth is, it just doesn't happen. Sometimes I give up — I really do.

What has society done to our younger generations to turn them off one of the most loving, beautiful, joyful and natural parts of life, namely the family.

With the Separation and Divorce rate rising, not to mention the extraordinary damage it does to families and children for a generation or two, or longer, it's not surprising couples aren't going the whole way.

But is this part of some master social plan to curb Australians from reproducing more Australians, or just reducing the population in general? Who ever really knows as we are all just like puppets in somebody else's play, I'm just not sure whose.

With love
Michael