Real Family Values

During the past couple decades I have learned how little I knew about family values.  Most of this knowledge has been courtesy of the outreach provided by politicians who have made preservation of these values their mission. After all, they have said, what is more truly American than the family?  In fact, one architect of the plan to restore order, pointed out it is the role of conservatives everywhere to maintain these values in the face of liberal and progressive agendas that seek to undermine this holy institution and bring about change.

Deb standing by her exhibit
at last Friday's Art Walk in Fullerton

Having grown up with Ozzie and Harriet, Donna Reed, Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best, I don’t know how I failed to notice the collapse taking place right before my eyes. One of the key indicators according to these concerned citizens is the blatant disregard for the sanctity of marriage. Half of all such unions end in divorce. I am a victim of divorce. We even elected a president who was divorced. (One of the great mysteries for me is explaining how the only person we ever elected president who had been divorced, Ronald Reagan, became the heart and soul of the conservative movement in this country.)  As a result, a number of the younger generation and the formerly married are choosing to skip over the ritual and just live together.

Further disintegration occurs when these co-habitaters begin having children.  According to at least one member of Congress it is bad enough when people cross our borders and give birth to unwanted citizens, but when our own young people become so disrespectful of the appropriately sanctioned process it should sound an alarm in all true Americans who cherish real family values.

My 86 year old mother with my oldest daughter, Beth,
who will make her a great-grandmother for the first time
in about 6 weeks.

Deb with her sisters. Conservative politicians gave them a
family values exemption because they live 2,000 miles away
in Wisconsin.

For the past few weeks I have been helping Debbie prepare for her third photography exhibition. Unlike previous exhibits, we needed to borrow a canopy and arrange for lighting, because it was outdoors at night. The venue was the mall outside the museum on Wilshire Boulevard, which served as the site for the Fourth Anniversary of the Art Walk in Fullerton.  If I remember my lessons from Ozzie Nelson and Ward Cleaver, not to mention my own father, the role of a good husband is to support his wife. The husband of the jeweler, who shared the same boutique—Lolo’s—as her sponsor and space under the canopy, told me how he had been helping his wife set up her display for years.  Apparently, he also received instruction in family values. I forgot to ask him if remediation from conservative politicians was the main source for his rehabilitation.  At any rate, it was clear they were on the right track because his young teenage son and daughter lent a hand.

A key influence in recognizing the talent my wife developed and encouraging her to make her photographs available to more people has been my sister-in-law.  Maria was among the first to purchase some of Debbie’s photos and recently purchased a couple to hang in my brother’s office.

While my brother and Maria, who find it difficult to stay awake after long days during tax season, were unable to attend, my own sister came to support her sister-in-law. After driving more than four hours from her home in Paso Robles, she brought our 86 year old mother with her to participate in the night’s festivities, which included walking around the exhibits and purchasing dinner at one of the food trucks. I’m not sure how much attention my sister or mother pays to conservative politicians, but they do seem to exemplify real family values.