Question Time!

This is going to be a little different than anything I normally post, but I want to hear your thoughts on these questions. This week in Family Relations, we were discussing culture as it relates to family an Brother Williams posed and interesting question: Are all cultures equally valid?

So here are a couple of things we had to define in order to answer this question as a class. What is culture? What is the meaning of valid? And can something be valid in one's eyes, but not the eyes of another? So we looked up the words valid and culture. As defined by dictionary.com, "valid is sound, just, or well founded" and culture is, "the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group". So, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that the validity of one culture, may vary from culture to culture and even in the eyes of God and man.

Here's my question to all of you, keeping in mind the definitions of valid and culture-- Are all cultures equally valid in accomplishing the purpose of the family unit?

Parts of a Whole Pullin' Together

Parts of a Whole Pullin' Together

When I think of a role, I often think of someone playing a part like an actor or actress portraying a character with specific duties and qualities. In also think of function and order. For example what is the function of an alternator in a car, what part does it play in helping the car run, and how does it influence the other parts of the car? Just as the alternator receives the vital charge from starter which receives a charge from the battery so that our cars can start, we too play vital roles in helping our families to function. What is your role or function? Are you the listener? Or are you the peacemaker? Are you the rebel or the one that your parents don’t have to sweat about? Every person in a family plays a role. We see it in our own families and in fictional families as well. Just think back to that wonderful family drama that we all loved so much….7^th Heaven! Well I loved it, even if no one else did. ;)

7^th Heaven was family drama that aired from 1996-2007 on The WB and later CW about a typical Anglo-Saxon protestant family.  I use typical because while they were supposedly the normal, happy and perfect minister’s family they had 7 children,  definitely faced their own interesting challenges and were far from typical. As early as the very first episode of season one we can that even within this “typical” family each member played a specific and established role. We see in this episode as well as almost every episode to follow Annie Camden (the mom) plays the fixer/ handy man. She takes action to fix problems and anything broken in house, while her husband Reverend Eric Camden is busy talking to teach his community and children life lessons and fix other types of problems. Matt Camden, the oldest brother, seems to have all of the wisdom when it comes to the things around the house, his siblings, and the world and is always there to protect and counsel his younger siblings. Mary, the eldest daughter, is the one with the crazy ideas and schemes. She has good intentions, but her ideas tend to be a little farfetched. Lucy, the middle child for most of her life, is VERY emotional and always wears her heart on her sleeve. Simon, in later episodes known as “The Bank of Simon” for his ability to manage money, is the negotiator and businessman of the family. Ruthy, while very young during the first season, is smart, witty, and cute and eventually as she ages that plays to her advantage as well. As different as each member of the Camden family is there are always there to support and uplift one another, but each in their uniquely talented way. We can see that while these roles seen in the very first episode are apparent as the Camden family grows in numbers and matures, but at times there are also shifts and changes in their roles order to accommodate familial and personal growth and maturation.

So ponder this—what role do you play in your family? Is it the same role you played 5, 10, 15, or more years ago? And does the role you play or still play have a positive effect on your family?

It’s definitely hard at times to know our roles in our families as we change and grow, but as we change and grow for the better always sticking together and looking out for one another it’ll all work out. Just as we need all the parts of our car- the engine, battery, starter, alternator, etc. we need all parts and roles in our families in order to get through the thick and thin. As it goes in Pullin’ Together from Saturday’s Warrior, “All alone we just can’t make it by ourselves we fall behind, but if we lift and pull together we can help each other climb.....We've got a father and mother, sister and brother, pullin' together we can work it out....."