Family Matters: Chile (or other non-Anglo countries) vs. USA
Posted: March 3rd, 2012, 12:56 pm
In Chile, children are raised to respect both of their parents, no matter how bad they are. A Chilean mother will say, "Even if your father is a drunk and a bad man (short of being a criminal or psychopath), you must go and see him. Even if he says hurtful or silly things to you, you have to put up with it and listen to him. He is your father and you must respect him." Fathers will say the same thing about mothers, even if they are liars, gossips, adulteresses and so forth. The family is something important, even more important than friends, and that includes "bad" siblings and cousins, too. One is not entitled to simply cut off a family member, even if he disagrees with their behavior, religion, philosophy or politics. Sure, Chilean families have big fights and harsh words, including promises to never speak to one another ever again. Yet the vast majority of the time the feuding family members again get back together. Parents are very dedicated to their children, far more than parents in the United States seem to be, and children respect their parents. Family loyalty is of paramount importance.
Herein lies an important difference between Chile and the United States, and probably many other places (Canada, Europe, etc.) to a greater or lesser degree. Chile is more "collectivist" when it comes to the family while the United States is more "individualistic." Even through divorce, Chilean families stay in contact and children respect parents, no matter how bad one or both of them may be, and no matter how far apart they live. The same is true with black sheep or ornery siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. There is regular communication by telephone or email at the very least. Family members gather for funerals and weddings, even at great expense, just like the Chilean woman I recently spoke with in the airport who has lived in Sweden for decades was returning to her home country of Chile to attend a niece's wedding.
In the United States, it is commonplace nowadays for a son or daughter to get "mad" at one or both of his parents and never speak to them again, or at least not speak to them for 5, 10 or even 30 years or more. Grandparents sometimes do not know their grandchildren. Brothers and sisters stop talking to each other on account of some offense or religious difference. I know several American families with multiple instances of this social malady. Some children would not even attend one or both of their parent's funerals or care less what happens to them. Some are so selfish that they would never consider caring for an aged parent. There is a loss of basic parental affection in the United States. Parents are not much better some times, abandoning children, abusing them or aborting them (the ultimate abuse). In Chile, child abuse is far less common and it is culturally unacceptable for anyone, even strangers, to molest kids or put them in "kiddie porn" movies. I am not saying that Chile is perfect but rather that it is markedly different and better than the United States when it comes to family unity and care.
The radical feminization of American public policy has led to evil family court actions, which currently have left something like 17 million children without any chance of seeing and knowing their fathers. The American government is notoriously anti-family. At least the Chilean government is relatively better, viewing the family unit as essential to a well-functioning society, and far more reasonable in its family court rulings and public policies.
There is little in life that can be more emotionally hurtful than family breakdown where blood relationships are effectively eliminated. Yet such is commonplace in the United States. There is almost no concept of forgiveness or forgetting errors. Children proudly cut off their "bad" or "too strict/religious" parents, and sisters their "bad" brothers. Imagine how a father feels when a daughter he spent so much time with and invested so much money in turns against him and stops speaking to him, caring about him or showing an inkling of love and affection. The same is true for mothers, sons, cousins, uncles and the rest.
This degeneracy is yet another reason why America is not a very good place to live and is getting worse all the time. It also shows why Chile provides a better place to live. Let's hope that the anti-family forces of radical feminists and others do not have the same "success" in their evil quest in Chile as they have had in the United States and other parts of the world.
There is something to be said for a good dose of social conservatism when it comes to the family. And Chile gives a good dose of free market economic policy coupled with a dose of social conservatism.
http://escapeamericanow.blogspot.com/20 ... v-usa.html
Herein lies an important difference between Chile and the United States, and probably many other places (Canada, Europe, etc.) to a greater or lesser degree. Chile is more "collectivist" when it comes to the family while the United States is more "individualistic." Even through divorce, Chilean families stay in contact and children respect parents, no matter how bad one or both of them may be, and no matter how far apart they live. The same is true with black sheep or ornery siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents. There is regular communication by telephone or email at the very least. Family members gather for funerals and weddings, even at great expense, just like the Chilean woman I recently spoke with in the airport who has lived in Sweden for decades was returning to her home country of Chile to attend a niece's wedding.
In the United States, it is commonplace nowadays for a son or daughter to get "mad" at one or both of his parents and never speak to them again, or at least not speak to them for 5, 10 or even 30 years or more. Grandparents sometimes do not know their grandchildren. Brothers and sisters stop talking to each other on account of some offense or religious difference. I know several American families with multiple instances of this social malady. Some children would not even attend one or both of their parent's funerals or care less what happens to them. Some are so selfish that they would never consider caring for an aged parent. There is a loss of basic parental affection in the United States. Parents are not much better some times, abandoning children, abusing them or aborting them (the ultimate abuse). In Chile, child abuse is far less common and it is culturally unacceptable for anyone, even strangers, to molest kids or put them in "kiddie porn" movies. I am not saying that Chile is perfect but rather that it is markedly different and better than the United States when it comes to family unity and care.
The radical feminization of American public policy has led to evil family court actions, which currently have left something like 17 million children without any chance of seeing and knowing their fathers. The American government is notoriously anti-family. At least the Chilean government is relatively better, viewing the family unit as essential to a well-functioning society, and far more reasonable in its family court rulings and public policies.
There is little in life that can be more emotionally hurtful than family breakdown where blood relationships are effectively eliminated. Yet such is commonplace in the United States. There is almost no concept of forgiveness or forgetting errors. Children proudly cut off their "bad" or "too strict/religious" parents, and sisters their "bad" brothers. Imagine how a father feels when a daughter he spent so much time with and invested so much money in turns against him and stops speaking to him, caring about him or showing an inkling of love and affection. The same is true for mothers, sons, cousins, uncles and the rest.
This degeneracy is yet another reason why America is not a very good place to live and is getting worse all the time. It also shows why Chile provides a better place to live. Let's hope that the anti-family forces of radical feminists and others do not have the same "success" in their evil quest in Chile as they have had in the United States and other parts of the world.
There is something to be said for a good dose of social conservatism when it comes to the family. And Chile gives a good dose of free market economic policy coupled with a dose of social conservatism.
http://escapeamericanow.blogspot.com/20 ... v-usa.html