2011 Reading Challenge~~Book #20

I'm glad I read The Natural Family: A Manifesto by Allan C. Carlson and Paul T. Mero, though it's not what you'd call a page-turner. Carlson and Mero make the case for the traditional family (they prefer the term "natural family") from a non-religious standpoint, something I think we must do in our secularizing culture. Looking at biology, sociology, psychology, and politics and by using plain ol' commonsense the authors show why people ~ men, women, and children ~ are happier and better off when they are part of a natural family. The book is well documented and loaded with statistics and references to study after study. That's where it gets just a wee bit tedious, but I understand why that was necessary.

In relation to the natural family, the authors discuss poverty, population decline, domestic violence, anti-family governmental policies, education (with more than a few positive references to homeschooling), working mothers, daycare ~ whatever topic you can think of that relates to the family, it is probably in this book. Something I found refreshing about The Natural Family is that although Carlson and Mero spell out steps the government could and should take to strengthen the family, their main thrust is aimed at families themselves. In true conservative fashion, they don't expect or want the government to fix the family, only support it through family-friendly tax and other policies. The solutions lie in the hands of men and women and the families they form through marriage and childbearing.

Though their ideas are helpful to people of all ages, Carlson and Mero plea especially with those in their 20's and 30's to rethink what they've been told by liberal feminism about marriage, divorce, and family size and timing. I hope many young people will read this book and be persuaded about the benefits to themselves and society of marrying and having many children.

If you go here and type his name in the search engine, you can hear many interviews Allan Carlson has done with Issues, Etc. host, Todd Wilken. Very enjoyable listening.

With our upcoming move, I will be relying on audiobooks and shorter books for several weeks to keep up with the reading challenge. I hope that's all right with my vast reading audience, but I'm afraid it will have to do. This is real life. ;-)