Monday, February 6, 2012

What if the Biggest Cause of Inequality in US is Cultural?

Charles Murray in his new book "Coming Apart" points out that a large % of blue-collar America is turning aside core values which have been a bedrock of our country- values such as marriage, honesty( includes obeying the law), hard work and religion. Marriage is down 36% in the the working class( high school grads) vs. down 11% in the upper middle class(college grads) since 1960. Our founding fathers, such as Patrick henry, believed that a stable family was necessary for a stable society. I find it interesting that the decline of marriage correlates to the demise of home economic classes and the decline of the family meal and home-cooking. Isn't it a part of the family culture weather you put time aside to at least have 4 family meals in a week? 4 is the magic # of meals which help produce better students and students with less risky behavior. So what are we going to do about it? Let's have that food revolution that Oprah and Jamie Oliver are talking about- start saving money and have more fun with less stress by cooking home-made meals AT LEAST 4 times a week. To prevent "coming apart" let everyone in your household take a part in shopping, cooking, setting the table, and cleaning. Then maybe Clint Eastwood in his Super Bowl ad might be right- it's halftime in America and we are coming back to restore equality because that is the American way of life!