I think the idea of belonging to a communitythat self conscious embraces these values to some extent might be necessary. I think this would fall under your "tight knit church" point that you decided to leave out. I am not certain it has to be a whole church that is that way, but if you know no one in real life who embraces these principles, can two parents by themselves pass them on? Where would the children find spouses? Etc. So, whether this is a local church, a subset of members of a church, a group of people from different churches, or even a group of non-local friends who meet a few times a year, I think there must be something larger than the family, to which the family can tangibly belong, and can link their individual identity to.
I agree with almost everything here. I have many of the same goals and strategies for achieving them. However, I did find the part about calories a bit weird. In a modern society if you are intelligent and focused it’s easy to get a job. If you have a job, you have money. If you have money, calories are not difficult to come by. Part of the family identity I am building is a sense of responsibility for being (and marrying others who are) intelligent. For me that also means that young women should not be taught to restrict their search to local men. If the local men aren’t worthy, go where the intelligent men are. Strong women can carry the culture even if they marry outsiders.
Physical survival and understanding the importance of family are both essential to your children carrying on the family line. In times past, a father may have had to scrabble to feed his children but would not have worried about teaching his kids the importance of having children of his own. The whole society was structured to do that for him. Now, physical survival is easy because society is structured to make it easy, as you point out. But teaching your kids the importance of having kids is no longer something you can take for granted.
In other words, this isn't a to do list. It's one step up from a to do list.
Sure, we have to provide a compelling narrative for having children because it is no longer the default. The narrative needs to include an understanding of our relationship to sex, but also money, and even class.
Humans have evolved to be sensitive to social status. A lot of the narratives we are concerned about come from elites. One of the reasons people gravitate toward them is because they want signal status. I don’t expect the next generation to be immune from trying to mimic the social elite.
Hence the unique family identity/story has to provide a framework for relating to money and class. How do we make money? Are elite? If not, are we trying to be elite?
I think the idea of belonging to a communitythat self conscious embraces these values to some extent might be necessary. I think this would fall under your "tight knit church" point that you decided to leave out. I am not certain it has to be a whole church that is that way, but if you know no one in real life who embraces these principles, can two parents by themselves pass them on? Where would the children find spouses? Etc. So, whether this is a local church, a subset of members of a church, a group of people from different churches, or even a group of non-local friends who meet a few times a year, I think there must be something larger than the family, to which the family can tangibly belong, and can link their individual identity to.
>Where would the children find spouses?
That's a tough point to argue against.
I agree with almost everything here. I have many of the same goals and strategies for achieving them. However, I did find the part about calories a bit weird. In a modern society if you are intelligent and focused it’s easy to get a job. If you have a job, you have money. If you have money, calories are not difficult to come by. Part of the family identity I am building is a sense of responsibility for being (and marrying others who are) intelligent. For me that also means that young women should not be taught to restrict their search to local men. If the local men aren’t worthy, go where the intelligent men are. Strong women can carry the culture even if they marry outsiders.
Physical survival and understanding the importance of family are both essential to your children carrying on the family line. In times past, a father may have had to scrabble to feed his children but would not have worried about teaching his kids the importance of having children of his own. The whole society was structured to do that for him. Now, physical survival is easy because society is structured to make it easy, as you point out. But teaching your kids the importance of having kids is no longer something you can take for granted.
In other words, this isn't a to do list. It's one step up from a to do list.
Sure, we have to provide a compelling narrative for having children because it is no longer the default. The narrative needs to include an understanding of our relationship to sex, but also money, and even class.
Humans have evolved to be sensitive to social status. A lot of the narratives we are concerned about come from elites. One of the reasons people gravitate toward them is because they want signal status. I don’t expect the next generation to be immune from trying to mimic the social elite.
Hence the unique family identity/story has to provide a framework for relating to money and class. How do we make money? Are elite? If not, are we trying to be elite?