Countries Manipulated by the Media

Carol Soelberg

Late on Friday, the UN negotiating room erupted in cheers as anti-family activists welcomed the adoption of the “Agreed Conclusions” for the Commission on Status of Women (CSW) 57th session.  Two weeks of intense negotiations had produced a document that was less than favorable to the cause of family and of life.  United Families representatives, along with other members of the pro-family/pro-life coalition, had gone late into the night monitoring negotiations, providing options for language, and working to shore up the family-friendly delegations.  In the end, however, it became clear that one of our biggest opponents had been the media.

Before CSW even began, media was circulating the meme that the delegations of Russia, Iran, the Holy See, Pakistan, were going to work to stymie negotiations.  The articles (examples here and here) implied that nations that are conservative in worldview and adhere to religion and traditional cultural values were complicit in promoting violence against women.  (Eliminating Violence against Women and Girls” was the theme of the two-week gathering.)  The news articles made it clear that if the outcome document failed (as it did last year) that it would be the fault of these nations and their delegations.

At about 5:30 pm on the final day, the negotiation’s facilitator announced that a “Chairman’s text” was now going to be used as the final version.  There was no word as to who had actually been involved in compiling the text. It was a stunning turn of events because the Chairman’s text retained much of the language that pro-family countries had opposed for weeks and yet the compilers of the text had simply dropped many of the pro-life/pro-family phrases and paragraphs.  In the end, few delegations spoke out against the Chairman’s text or registered reservations and it was adopted.

The anti-family contingents at CSW were not going to let this document fail and it appeared that the media campaign against the pro-family position had done its job.  The voices of our usually out-spoken and assertive pro-family delegations had been tempered.  Long-time UN watchers observed that if the text had gone to an actual counted vote, pro-family delegations did not have sufficient enough numbers to defeat the Chairman’s text so why should they risk the wrath of the media and the liberal delegations, when opposing the draft in the final moments would not have affected the outcome anyway.  “It was a done deal from the beginning,” one observer noted.

Specific Outcomes of CSW 57 “Agreed Conclusions”

Some of the troubling language:

• Multiple references to “sexual and reproductive” health care/services/rights (used to promote abortion).

•   “gender-related crimes” in the context of the International Criminal Court; “gender-based violence” causing “…psychological harm or suffering…”  (“Gender” is often used in the context of acknowledging and promoting homosexual behaviors.)

• Deletion of the paragraph supporting a nation’s sovereign rights, “…with full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of its people, and conformity with universally recognized international human rights.”

Some successes:

• Gone from text are references to “sexual or gender orientation” or “gender-identity”  (The opposition was saddened by its loss, noting that it referred to “women who love other women”.)  References to “intimate partner” “intimate relationships” were also removed.  (This is language intended to normalize out-of-wedlock sexual relations.)

• Retention of ICPD language in reference to abortion.

• An inclusion of the troubling language of “comprehensive sexuality education” but qualified with this important phrase: “…with the appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians…”

• Inclusions of need to eliminate “prenatal sex selection,” “forced hysterectomy,” forced sterilization,” forced use of contraceptives”

A Bad Document, but a Great Education!  

United Families International conducted a parallel event called:  “Eliminating Violence against Women and Girls: What does the research say?”  To a packed room, we presented a wealth of evidence that the safest place for women and children is in a stabled, married, heterosexual household.   Included in the event was a short presentation on the horrific practice of sex-selective abortion (the systematic termination of unborn females).   At the completion of the presentation, a young Hungarian woman approached one of the college students who was part of the UFI team and mentioned that prior to our presentation she “had never before considered how women, and human beings in general, have rights before they are born.”

The UFI team was pleased to recognize once again that the real win is in the heart and mind of each individual.   We came away with a long list of individuals from around the world who requested a copy of the power point so they could share the research with others.  Every individual who becomes convinced of the necessity of the family in providing a safe place for women, adds one more powerful voice in defense of the family.

The UFI team, which consisted of six college students, their two professors, and UFI’s other volunteers, were able to visit twelve UN Missions.  They delivered UFI’s Negotiating Guide and the book on the importance of Family Capital in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.  Mission visits are a wonderful way to become acquainted with the delegates, offer support and encouragement for their difficult task of standing firm against the huge wall of opposition, and to spread a pro-family/pro-life message.

Lastly, we were also supported by a group of dedicated students from Patrick Henry College.  We thank them for their work.  Please take a minute to check out some of their blog posts (below).  You’ll gain some interesting insights into the Commission on the Status of Women.

It does not surprise us that the UN commissions become increasingly resistant to family-friendly documents.  But we will not give up!  We will continue to work with the International pro-family coalition to discover ways to protect the family and stop the progress of the opposition.  We learned this time the power the media can play in the UN and we will be prepared to fight that battle in the future.  We know that those of our team who experienced the UN for the first time have seen another side of the opposition and they left more empowered to defend the family on all levels.

We wish you could all have that experience and hope that our report lights a fire in your hearts to continue the critical work of protecting and strengthening the family.

Carol Soelberg
President, United Families International

 

Remembering CSW

Rachel Allison

This week is the final week of the “Commission on the Status of Women,” a conference being held at the United Nations in New York City.  United Families International has several volunteers at the UN working to influence pro-life and pro-family language into the outcome documents that will soon become International Law.

As important as this lobbying is, those in our delegation also have opportunity to support women who have come from all over the world to speak to UN delegations concerning their difficult situations at home. Until we hear their stories many of us cannot fathom the situations these good women are experiencing.  In past years I have heard women speak about human slave and sex trafficking.  Their laws and police force do not protect them or their children from such atrocities.   I have heard women talk about watching other women stoned to death without trial or jury.  I have heard women talk about laws that do not protect their 10, 11, and 12 year-old daughters from being bought and subjected to marriage and pregnancy…pregnancy that often causes the unborn baby to die within the womb of the child bride because her body is not mature enough to give birth.

I’m not at CSW (Commission on the Status of Women) this year, but I am trying to read as much as I can about what is happening as they try to direct this year’s focus on eliminating violence against women. I just read an article by someone who is at the conference.  His words brought back vivid memories of needs and concerns that are too often sidelined.

“During the waning days of the conference’s first week and well into this most recent weekend,  I watched and listened as African women discussed and debated the all-important Outcome Document amongst themselves.  Luckily for me, English is their common language and as I sat beside them in the Business Center of our clean but quite modest hotel late into the night on Saturday AND Sunday, I heard their concerns.”

“They are worried about their daughter’s AND son’s education; they want access to potable water in the more remote regions of their respective countries; more doctors, and in keeping with          this year’s conference theme, they want real life-and-death protection for their daughters.”

As I read his article, I was taken back to the years when I attended CSW, and my heart went out to these women who are desperate for help.  I have personally seen women who have to walk miles for potable water.  I have seen the small dark tents where 15+ children huddle to be taught reading and simple arithmetic. I have seen villages whose only “doctor” is a witch doctor who uses the same needle on his patients until it is too dull to be used again.  I have seen mother’s grieve over the loss of a child to dehydration, snakebite, and disease when there was no medicine or help to save.

We who can’t imagine raising a family in such living conditions should count our blessings, and determine that we will give selflessly to strengthen our families, and then support causes that can lift and help the struggling.

Because I have seen what I have seen, and experienced what I have experienced, I cannot, without guilt, spend time on the trivial.  I’m grateful for that guilt.  There are causes too vital not to get involved.  I try to examine my priorities every day. And then I pray like the dickens that my efforts will make a difference.

Education: Third Cycle, Is there Hope?

Maddi Gillel

Editor’s note:  This is the third in a series on education.  To see “The High Water Mark,” go here, the second article, “The Nose Dive,” is here.

The value of the second cycle is that many have learned the hard way what works to make a country strong, healthy, prosperous, safe, and independent  in every way.

In his book Back to Basics: The Traditionalist Movement That is Sweeping Grassroots America, Burton Yale Pines expressed the yearning of the vast majority of Americans to get America back on track.  There is a call for reform in many areas:

1-     A revival of quality education by the national  commission (A Nation at Risk: The  Imperative for Educational Reform)

2-     A return to the free- market system with less intervention by government so that millions of new jobs can be created.

3-     A restoration of moral and spiritual values in both private and public life.

4-     A reduction in taxes; federal, state, and local.

5-     Paying off the national debt.

6-     Turning public welfare programs into workfare, education, and job-creating opportunities instead of allowing millions of Americans to become permanently trapped on the poverty level.

( Burton Yale Pines)

There are many in our  society who are doing what they can to resist that which weakens our country and encourage that which makes our country strong and free once again.  There are websites that are forwarded  to thousands to keep others aware of the news of the day; there are blogs such as this one, to encourage strong families, financial responsibility, and a return to values;  many more of our representatives understand and uphold the constitution and know how this country should be governed; many families have remained sufficiently intact that they have been raised by parents and grandparents who lived during the high water mark of our society; technological knowledge is at an all- time high, which has its downside, but the upside is that more can stay abreast of advancements in every aspect of our society –law, medicine, marketing, agriculture, retailing, engineering, education, political science, etc.

Many parents recognize the weakness of the education system and choose to home school their children- and this has been going on for quite some time.  Those children are in turn growing up, getting married, and home schooling their own children.

A College/University education was at one time,  thought to be the only way to make a good living, but many are choosing the trades (plumbing, electricity, carpentry, masonry,)  which  is  less expensive, takes less time, and will afford an ability to provide for one’s family ( of course keeping a strong work ethic in mind).  Keep in mind, that one can do a lot of reading and studying about any subject on earth in his own spare time and become an ‘educated’ person – there is formal education and informal education and a truly ‘educated’ person depends on his own volition.

There are an increasing number who are becoming more aware of the democratic process and are staying in contact with their representatives – through technology.  We can even sign petitions ‘on line.’

More reporters and journalists and radio hosts are choosing to be independent of ‘political correctness’ and can thusly keep their readers/listeners  apprised of what the real story is, as opposed to sticking to the talking points-‘ business as usual.’

To sum up, it is no mystery why billions are poured into education.  The ‘powers- that- be’ know that they have got to protect this institution. They can then do as they wish so children are raised to think along the lines of:  indifference to education (reading, writing, and math) socialism, religious and moral apathy, subjection to outrageous behavior from others (bullying, assault, profanity, vulgarity, negative peer pressure, etc.) and a lack of understanding and appreciation of the constitution.

Once again, and as usual, the home is crucial in teaching our children values, reading, math, writing, citizenship, financial responsibility, and family stability.

There is hope.

The Summer Soldier and the Sunshine Patriot

Rachel Allison

Do you remember the term “sunshine soldier and summer patriot?”

The term was found in Thomas Paine’s series of pamphlets published  during the American Revolution.  He wrote them because the colonists needed hope…they needed inspiration.  For any of you who have read the Pulitzer prize winning“1776” by David McCullough you will understand more fully the dire situation the colonists were facing.

“These are the times that try men’s souls” wrote Paine. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

Mr. Paine was describing those men, who, when the snow started falling, and a bad situation became harsh, left their ranks to return to their hearths, leaving the battles for others to wage.

This morning the thought, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times” (“A Tale of Two Cities” by Dickens) has come to my mind repeatedly.

I am so grateful for a warm home, food, grocery stores within walking distance, clean running water at the turn of a handle, a reliable car, modern technology that allows me to have world news and instant access to communication. What comfort and convenience! It is the best of times! It would be easy to relax on a couch with a good book and ignore the world around me.

And yet…we read and see another reality portrayed as the headlines inform us of …”murders,” “desertion,” “abortion promoted,” “same-sex marriage legalized,” “child abuse rampant,” “fraud discovered,” “lies uncovered,” “pornography,” “rape,” “drug addiction”…and we see that these can also be considered “the worst of times.”

I believe that 2012 for us is as critical as our Founding Father’s 1776. And Paine’s words ring in our ears, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” His pamphlets clarified the issues at stake in the war being waged.

We at United Families, are doing our “darnedest” to clarify the battles being fought in our society. Future generations will look at us…you and me, as having been “winter warriors” or “sunshine soldiers.” Just like the men and women of 1776, who, during MANY of the battles, saw no way out…we also, at times, see “no way to win.”  And yet we are winning.  We are given hope when we read that more and more of the rising generation see abortion for what it is…the killing of unborn babies. It has been a battle that started before the Supreme Court heard Roe vs. Wade in 1973.  A long battle, and it’s not over, but the pro-life contingent is expanding.

How long will it take for society to recognize the absolute importance and truth that marriage is between a man and a woman? Thirty years?  Hopefully if the “winter warriors,” you and I, get involved in the battle we can shorten the war.  It may be fierce, but in Paine’s words:

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Paine’s writings helped the colonists understand that the British were trying to assume powers that only God should have. Paine saw the British political and military maneuvers in America as “impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.”

Are there those today who can be compared with the British Empire of that day?  Some rights and powers belong to God alone.  Two of those powers are the giving and taking of life.  Who are we to assume we know better than God?

Paine states “that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupported to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent”.

Should we not be so worthy of God’s alliance? Obviously, we need to be more involved than just “wishing and hoping.” Every “decent method which wisdom could invent” needs to be in play. Think! Act! Write! Speak up! Get involved!

“The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” And may I add generations to come?

Eyes opened to what is going on at the UN

*Another in UFI’s series of blog posts from the young adults attending the UN High Level Meeting on Youth.  This time from a mother  who accompanied the youth group. 

By Kerri Davenport

It was interesting to attended the General Assembly where delegates of countries were given five minutes to speak of the needs their nation has for their youth (defined as 10 years to 25 years old).  Many ran over their allotted time and were reminded by the moderator from Luxembourg to finish up so others could have their time.

Most delegates and guests said the same things: youth need education, vocational training, jobs, the opportunity to participate in decision-making process in parliament, processes to end human trafficking,  youth empowerment programs, and other lofty ideals.  I didn’t hear possible solutions to these societal issues, just many delegates following one after another saying essentially the same things in their time to speak.

Before our trip to the United Nations, I knew from reading reports by United Families International about the UN and the anti-family agenda many delegates and international groups advance, but I had no concept of how much idea lockstep would exist among those who presented at the UN side events.   At one side event sponsored by International Planned Parenthood Federation, comprised of a panel of young adults reporting on the programs they have helped implement in their various countries, I heard over and over how youths are not subjects, but citizens of their country who have the right and need to:

“have open dialog”, “break the cycle of gender stereotypes and roles”, “create social and gender justice”, “help all youth know their rights”, “change notions of masculinity and pressure to conform to gender norms”, “have youth participate in making decisions in parliament”, and my personal favorite: “In their own realities” youth need to recognize their individual rights.  “Youth can recognize their own needs.”

Not mentioned were responsibilities citizens have to protect their own and others’ rights.

The opportunity to attend this “world youth conference” helped open my eyes to the destructive designs many of the groups have who associate with the United Nations.  I am grateful for the efforts of friends and defenders of the family, such as United Families International, who help regular citizens be informed of what is said and adopted at the United Nations.

“Students defend the family at the UN”

UFI in the News

Four students from BYU and a student from Arizona State University attended a conference with the UN in New York City to represent United Families International on July 25 and 26. Many young people attended the conference to discuss issues facing the upcoming generation. Among the issues discussed was the sexual rights debate. Abortion and homosexual marriage were at the forefront of the debates, along with the idea that young people, including adolescents, should have no sexual restraints.  Read more…

Day six: What’s it like inside a UN Mission?

Day six:  What’s it like inside a UN Mission?

The streets surrounding the UN in New York are lined with quaint brownstone-type houses that are the office to many a country’s mission to the UN.  The first thing that alerts you that you’re getting close to a UN mission (besides the big black town cars usually parked along the streets) is a country flag suspended high above the door.  Some missions are elegantly appointed with fine rugs, furniture and art work while other offices are much more modest and unassuming.   But one thing is always consistent, visitors are graciously received and appropriate decorum is always observed.

One of the preferred activities for UFI representatives in New York is to do “Mission Visits.”   Setting up an appointment is challenging; it requires numerous faxes to request an appointment and what seems to be endless follow-up phone calls to schedule.  But when you’re successful; the visit is always delightful!

UFI representatives go with the purpose of becoming acquainted with the diplomats, to ascertain their needs, to offer help and to see how willing the country’s diplomats and negotiators are to support a pro-life/pro-family position.  We deliver a copy of our UN Negotiating Guide in both print and CD.  The Negotiating Guide makes a wonderful and actually quite impressive gift.  It’s a gift that can help the mission as well as help pro-family work at the UN and it’s always well received.

We had a most interesting experience at the Mission of Sierra Leone.  Sierra Leone has suffered through many years of civil war with horrific stories of child soldiers and mutilation.   But their country is finally at peace and working to rebuild.  The Deputy Permanent Representative was quick to share with us his country’s desire to “re-brand” Sierra Leone as a politically stable country with much to offer both in natural resources and opportunities for tourism and business.  We told him we would be happy to pass that information on.   Sierra Leone is very “pro-family” and works well with the G-77 (African nations) on supporting pro-life and pro-family language in all of the UN documents.    We were honored that the diplomats would contribute a story of UFI’s visit to the main news service in Sierra Leone.  See the news story of our visit here.

The Permanent Mission of Zambia to the United Nations was also visited this trip.  Their diplomats spent a good deal of time with UFI representatives.  They wanted us to know that they are a “Christian Nation” dedicated to religious values and principles.  In fact it is written into their constitution.  The Deputy Permanent Representative stated “it is a declaration of what people should look to.  Religion produces positive things for a country.”    They spoke of the importance of family and how the traditional role of women is revered in their country.   We certainly agreed!

The Permanent Mission of Ghana to the UN was very willing to meet with us and to make sure that we would be put in contact with their country’s diplomats to the “Third Committee.”  We welcomed that opportunity.  They were so excited about the Negotiating Guide, they asked for three copies!

Without the help of the African Nations – most of them extremely pro-life and pro-family – our effort to protect the family would be almost impossible.  We express great gratitude to them all.  One diplomat spoke of the challenges that Africa faces – many families live on less than $1 a day.  But he assured us that his people are happy none the less.  He concluded:  “God lives with us in Africa….He provides…”

Gifts that Endure

Giving is the very essence of Christmas and the greatest gifts in the world are all about family, for family.  As I reflect on gifts that have made a difference in my life, my thoughts turn not only to my own family, but also to what United Families International is accomplishing for families around the world.

Today, we who love and care for our families often have precious little time or resources for much else. But if we are to preserve our own families, we cannot afford to ignore the harsh reality that families everywhere are under attack, beginning at the highest international level. Noted scholar Patrick Fagan of Family Research Council warns:

“Few Americans are aware that agencies within the United Nations system are involved in a campaign to undermine the foundations of society; the two-parent married family, religions that espouse the primary importance of marriage and traditional sexual morality, and the legal and social structures that protect these institutions.”

What’s at stake

The attack on the family is waged on many levels, spearheaded by powerful and well-funded organizations. Raising the banner of “tolerance” and “rights,” they relentlessly push a shocking social agenda that includes:
*    “gay marriage” with the right of gay couples to adopt and raise children, and public school programs that promote homosexuality to children of all ages
*    abortion as a fundamental human right, universally available regardless of parental consent or knowledge
*    “sexual rights” of all children, including their access to sex education programs that promote promiscuity and homosexuality, and push the distribution of condoms
*    limitations on parental authority to teach and enforce family values, and denigration of the roles of mothers and fathers.

These attacks are especially disturbing in light of the foundational and irreplaceable role of the family throughout history. The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius–selected by historian Will Durant as the greatest thinker of all time–declared: “To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order.”

This ancient truth continues to be recognized today, as for example in the constitutions of nations around the world that refer to the family as the “basis of society,” “the foundation of society,” or, using other imagery, as “the basic cell” or “basic nucleus.”   These and other interesting variations all recognize the key fact that, as expressed nearly half a century ago by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the family truly is the fundamental unit of society.

I am impressed by the insight expressed in the following words spoken by the U.S. representative to the United Nations General Assembly on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family:

[The] “family is a universal and irreplaceable community, rooted in human nature and the basis for all societies at all times. As the cradle of life and love for each new generation, the family is the primary source of personal identity, self-esteem, and support for children. It is also the first and foremost school of life, uniquely suited to teach children integrity, character, morals, responsibility, service, and wisdom.” (UFI helped draft that language, by the way!)

What this shows is how much is at stake in the battle over the family. Impair or injure or obstruct the family, and you have jeopardized society, civilization, and everything we hold dear.

What you can do

One year on Christmas Eve, a gentleman walked into our office and, without ceremony or fanfare, handed us an envelope containing a major gift of funds. He had been deeply impressed with our work and its practical impact on children and families, and knowing that we were in need of funding, he gave. His gift was a sacrifice, and its effect has been real and powerful.

Thanks to that gift, we kept dangerous language out of UN documents that would have forced abortion upon countries around the globe. Thanks to that gift, we continue to provide our widely used UN-Negotiating Guide and other pro-family educational publications. Thanks to that gift, we helped protect marriage between a man and a woman in many states in America. Thanks to that gift, we were able to reach many thousands of African young people to help them make choices to avoid AIDS and prepare themselves for faithful marriages and successful families.

But our accomplishments have truly been a team effort, the result of the gifts of many volunteers and supporters. Our strength is the combined strength of a host of unselfish individuals and families who have generously assisted us, each gift being an essential part of our effort. To those wonderful supporters, I wish to convey my heartfelt thanks for your unselfish gifts.

My gift in return is to continue to serve to strengthen families–not only in my own home, but as a volunteer for UFI.  I make this sacrifice of time and effort because I know that families today must be strengthened and because what United Families International is accomplishing is absolutely essential. Counseling with my husband and family, we decided that this service would be our gift to other families.

This particular holiday season as we give to friends and family, resources are very strained. The economic and political conditions of our world have created very difficult financial situations for many people and charities have suffered immensely.   Whatever your means allow, I invite you to join our family of UFI supporters by making a gift for the benefit of families around the world. It is a gift that will endure, and it is urgently needed.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Carol Soelberg
United Families International

Do Violent Video Games Harm Children? UFI in the News

Members of United Families International joined with other pro-family organizations and Utah state legislators in a press conference to encourage Utah’s Attorney General not to oppose the California law prohibiting minors from purchasing ultra-violent and sexually explicit video games.  This press conference was in response to a recent Salt Lake Tribune report, that Utah’s “Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Thursday he is talking with a number of his colleagues from other states who are working on a potential friend-of-the-court brief opposing California’s law.”

United Families Utah’s Laura Bunker also spoke at the press conference, explaining, “These are not just war games. They are ultra-violent video games that use pornography and animated sexual acts as rewards for reaching higher levels. Rather than opposing this measure to protect children, Utah should join the eleven other states in support of it.”   We applaud the eleven states and their Attorneys General that have risen to the support of California’s common-sense law and urge Utah’s Attorney General and other states’ Attorneys General to not get involved on behalf of the video game industry and in support of the canard that California’s law infringes on a minor’s freedom of speech.

To see media coverage of this issue and a video of United Families Utah’s efforts, go to these links:

http://connect2utah.com/news-story/?nxd_id=105435
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12129145&pid=0

To learn more about the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case and the issues surrounding Violent Video Games vs. Free speech and the impact to our children, go here.

The Age of the Uncivilized

The family is the source of our greatest joys and some of our keenest sorrows. It is where our most basic need to loved is met.  In the family men and women learn to sacrifice, love, and serve.  Children learn to value work, respect, and responsibility.   Experiencing life in a natural family becomes absolutely fundamental to the preservation of society.

Some years back we begin to hear voices that claimed they could take the “difficulties” out of life by eliminating our responsibilities–especially in families.  The objective of these voices was to “relieve women of their oppressive roles as wives and mothers and men of their responsibilities to provide support and security for their families.”  They used words like equality and liberation to create a feel good motive for destroying the very bases of civilization—the family.

In 1978, guided by a love for the family and the recognition that these voices could destroy not only families but entire civilizations, United Families International was created to protect and strengthen the family.  By strengthening the family, communities, states, and nations are strengthened.

We strengthen the family by promoting:

Family: Respect for existing law, political structure, religion, and cultural norms that preserve the family.

Marriage: Respect for marriage between a man and a woman founded on chastity before marriage and fidelity in marriage

Life: Respect for the sanctity of human life including unborn children.

Parents: Respect for the right and obligation of parents to love protect, provide for, and teach their children.

Sovereignty: Respect for the sovereign rights of each individual nation as we work in the world community to protect the common good of individual families.

But how are communities, states, and nations strengthened by strong families? Inversely, what happens to a society where the respect for important cultural institutions and behavioral norms are lost?

“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”–Newton’s Third Law

In the recorded history of mankind, people have acknowledged that an ordered structure of behavior valued, and adhered to by the vast majority of individuals in a community, state, or nation, brought results that improved their lives.  This ordered structure consisted of principles, supported by institutions. Adherence to principles (the action) produced positive results (the reaction) for the entire society. These societal improvements included peace, prosperity, fewer interpersonal conflicts, reliable systematic progression from one generation to another, self-respect, self-reliance, refinement, abhorrence for imposing upon the community burdens and responsibilities best borne by the individual, and liberty.

This process of developing principles, institutions, and patterns of beneficial behavior was called “civilization”.  Mankind prospered greatly under this civilizing process.  Achievement beyond description to one generation became commonplace for the next because of the civilizing impact of man’s institutions.

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines “civilize” thus:

Civilize: to cause to develop out of a primitive state; to bring to a technically advanced and rationally ordered stage of cultural development.

Webster’s also defines “culture”:

Culture: the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends upon man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations; b: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.

What happens to a civilization or cultural society when, after realizing the success achieved through multi-generational development of institutions, it devalues and destroys those successful institutions?  To find the answer one must merely observe our modern society as we discuss the cause and effect relationship (action and reaction) that brought us to our present circumstances.  The devaluation of the institution of the family is leading to its replacement as the fundamental unit of society. Government now seeks to become the fundamental unit of society, placing liberty, freedom of conscience, and free agency at risk.

The devaluation of marriage between a man and a woman threatens the destruction of this successful cultural institution. The sexual revolution of the 1960s and the feminist movement of the 70s have falsely convinced people that the incessant pursuit of personal pleasures and desires are the only benefits to life.  Cohabitation, divorce, homosexuality, physical or emotional abuse of spouse or children, are a sampling of the threats to marriage. A culture that does not value marriage, will eventually replace civil society with tribalism. Development of societies of gangs that spread internationally illustrates the negative consequences of a marriage-less culture.

The activist judge that recently struck down California’s Proposition 8 preserving marriage between a man and a woman said he could find no harm to anyone by forceful imposition of homosexual marriage on a people opposed to it.  Only the intellectually deaf, dumb, and blind can fail to recognize the harm.

Parents are also being replaced by governments. These secular-socialist regimes seek to strip the rights, privileges, and obligations to teach the rising generations the basic moral fundamental principles that built our civilization and substitute it with an amoral, corrupt, political correctness.  To successfully replace parents, these governments must supplant free agency, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and other liberties and institute policies of indoctrination of youth in government schools.

In lieu of the joy associated with life, a culture of death has become pervasive. The devaluation of life is evidenced by millions of voluntary, birth control-driven abortions; billions of forced, population-control driven abortions; millions of aged and ill persons euthanized when they become a burden to care-givers; institution of a “duty-to-die” mindset when secular-socialist regimes no longer have the financial resources to provide life prolonging medical services; escalating levels of seemingly random acts of violence, where murder is a tribalist right-of-passage, or tactical pursuit of business interests.
The negative consequences (the reaction) of rejection of long-valued cultural institutions (the action) are real and measurable.  Social scientists tell us that our prisons are full because of the breakdown of the family. Imprisoned are gang members who live in primitive, tribalist societies.  They house increasing numbers of individuals driven to drug and alcohol abuse.  They house an increasing number of child and spousal abusers.

Children and their unmarried mothers languish in poverty and neglect because governments, having replaced the family, lack resources to provide for them. In addition to the intense and pervasive personal suffering attributed directly to these actions, the financial costs to struggling economies cast a shadow of fear across the future wellbeing of everyone.

The world has more artists, actors, musicians, and writers than ever before.  Once instrumental in, and a sign of cultural refinement, the “artists” of today are purveyors of cultural decline. Where we once  valued refinement, we now prefer vulgarity, crudeness, and crassness.

In our modern society, the collective good is being replaced by short term satisfaction of adult desires that brings long term harm to those seeking such satisfaction.  Rejection of cultural institutions and behavioral norms has resulted in a cultural devolution or reversion to a more primitive state. An entire generation is now, ironically, supplanting its own long-term best interest in exchange for short term satisfaction.

Civilization, as we know it, is at a tipping point.  We can succumb to the trends I have described, or we can hold true to those civilizing institutions that brought the broad range of cultural success we enjoy in the world today.

At UFI, we are dedicated to our mission of preserving these cultural institutions.  We continue to educate the world regarding the value of cultural institutions and the consequences of their destruction.  Stand with us by dedicating your resources to help us preserve for generations to come, the cultural benefits you have long enjoyed.  Click HERE to support the family today!

Mike Duff
President, United Families International

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