What are Family Values, really?

I've found it very interesting recently to see which people the religious right "Family Values" folks are going to support for the Republican nominee for president. They seem to be having a rough time lately, though it is becoming apparent that when the rubber meets the road, money talks. Wayne Besen, in his daily commentary, brings a lot of these discrepancies to light. I'll make a few quotes, but I encourage you to read the entire article at http://www.waynebesen.com/2007/03/panderers-and-philanderers.html

Of particular interest were comments regarding Mitt Romney's seeming increase in popularity with certain religious right organizations, though there had been widespread skepticism of his LDS faith, and his history of waffling on issues to please the group he is speaking to:

According to an article in Sunday's New York Times, the ultra-wealthy Romney is desperately funneling cash to right wing organizations and literally banking on their support.

The Times revealed that a foundation of Romney's recently made $10,000-$15,000 contributions to the anti-abortion Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Massachusetts Citizens for Limited Taxation and the Massachusetts Family Institute. Moneybags Mitt also funneled $10,000 to a non-profit organization tied to the National Review magazine; he slipped $35,000 to the Federalist Society; and pumped $25,000 into the coffers of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Watching the jockeying for position in the early political debates has gotten me thinking about what exactly Family Values stands for. So, like many internet searchers, I turned to Wickipedia. It states:

Since 1980, the Republican party has used the issue of family values to attract socially conservative voters. While family values remains a rather vague concept, social conservatives usually understand the term to include some combination of the following principles (also referenced in the 2004 Republican Party platform):

Opposition to homosexual marriage
Support for traditional education and parental involvement in that education
Support for policies that encourage "adoption over abortion"
Support for behavior identified as traditional or moral such as respect, discipline, attentiveness, religious commitment
Support for healthy choices such as a nutritious diet, medical screenings, and physical activity
Support for health education, including abstinence, on the risks associated with early sexual activity such as teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases
Support for policies that protect children from obscenity and exploitation

I've read many articles on this term - seems that the term was popularized in a speech by Dan Quale, who said that pop culture contributed to our nation's "poverty of values", and that "it doesn't help matters when primetime TV has Murphy Brown—a character who supposedly epitomizes today's intelligent, highly paid, professional woman—mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another 'lifestyle choice'".

Those of us who remember that infamous line also know that it drew huge amounts of ridicule and was probably one of the main reasons Mr. Quale didn't do so well in his presidential bid. But apparently, though there was a firestorm of negative publicity, people on the right grabbed hold. The "Family Values" campaign was born. Seems an awfully shaky beginning, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, it gained in popularity and is still a catch-phrase for right wing proponents everywhere, especially those in the fundamentalist religious communities. "Don't allow gay marriage, because it will cause a decline in family values."

"Don't teach sex education to our children in schools, only abstinence, or our nation's family values will decrease even further."

It is a common fear tactic. Proponents of that phrase, "family values" are quick to let people know that if they are different from THEIR definition of what that means, they are, essentially NOT families with values at all. They frighten uneducated fundamentalists with the idea that if they support a political candidate that, say, supports gay marriage, or stem cell research, or any other liberal cause, they are supporting the decay of our society. That all good Christian men and women, and their children, will suffer from that decay unless they vote the conservative route.

Some people (perhaps who haven't been paying enough attention) may wonder why I'm linking the GOP and their "Family Values" doublespeak to religious fundamentalism. The answer is that, for all intents and purposes, they seem to have melded into one and the same group. Statistics show that nearly 2/3 of weekly churchgoers vote Republican, while 2/3 of non-attenders tend to vote Democratic. Of those churchgoers who vote Republican, most identify with conservative/fundamentalist denominations. So it appears that, at least to Fundamentalist Christians, the Republican party is "God's Party." And the politicians are eating it up and regurgitating it with their own spin.

See, the problem is not in supporting what one might construe as REAL family values - there is nothing wrong with giving support to families, assisting them in staying together, or in supporting their children, or in striving to live good, honest lives. The problem is in the rhetoric: "Are you for or against a two-parent family?" "Are you for or against allowing gays to marry, which goes against the traditional family?" This verbiage will always strive to put anyone critical of the message - or with a differing view of what constitutes a "family" in the anti-family corner.

James Dobson, fundemantalist leader of Focus on the Family, which has its main base in Colorado Springs, is one such spin doctor. His very website title - "Focus on the Family" - villifies any family which is not set up under Dobson's "godly" structure - that of a husband, wife, and two-point-four children. Any other family structure, no matter what THEIR values, is considered "sinful" by Dobson's definition.

So what are "Family Values?" Seems to me, they would be helping men, women, and children, no matter who they are, or what orientations, or what family structure and make-up - to succeed.