Issue Position: Family

Issue Position

Without question, the basic fundamental unit of any civil society is the family. Other than personal individual freedoms, no other issue is more critical than issues concerning the family. America, let me be clear, I believe that no greater commitment can be made than the commitment between a husband and wife. It is from that union that the family is birthed and the next generation of American citizens are born. All children deserve the safety and security that is produced in a strong family environment where parents work together to provide both for the daily needs of their children as well as future needs. We as Americans must be tireless in our protection of pro family values including, but not limited to, the rights of the unborn child. On this subject, I can't help but think that as Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he was divinely inspired as he listed our unalienable rights by first listing the right of life. I can only interpret the order of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as a priority listing according to how critical those rights would be in the future of our fledgling nation. So, if I'm correct in my interpretation of the importance of order, the right of life, trumps the right of liberty, and the right of liberty, trumps the right of pursuit of happiness. All this to mean, that the right of life is the most important right we have in our society and that it must be protected and its sanctity acknowledged before anyone's liberty or pursuit of happiness. Life then, must be secured and no one has the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness by extinguishing the life of the unborn.

Next, it must be stated that the parent is the first and most important teacher a child will ever know. And with the parent squarely placed in the child's life as a lifelong teacher, then a partnership should exist as the child enters the education system and the formal education begins. This partnership should always be recognized and the parent should have the ultimate say in the educational well being of the child because the parental rights supersede those of the educational establishment. However, the educational path of one child should never be allowed to impede upon the educational path of another as a result of preferential treatment or selfish desires of one set of parents over another. The family is clearly the driver of the educational future of the child and should always be recognized as such by the educational establishment. My vision for the family in America, going forward, is that it once again be given the position of importance in our society that it once had. That we recognize that, "as the family goes, so goes a nation". In my vision of our nations future, the unborn child, the parental rights concerning children, and the protection of marriage, are critical to a strong and sustainable future. Our nation must reward marriage and the involvement of parents in the lives of their children rather than dismiss its importance. Marriages must be sustained, single moms supported, and grandparents raising their grandchildren must be revered as heroes.

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