Changing Face of the Worlds Families
I had always assumed a two parent family provided the best support for a child. It never occurred to me there may be situations where the single-parent model could focus more resources on the child . . . It doesn’t matter what we believe; the face of families around the world is changing, and we will need to be dealing with the realities.
Marriage is a struggle. Raising children is a struggle. The more help, the better, I think!
The structure of families is changing worldwide, and based on a new report, some children are better off living with one parent than two.
According to the 2013 World Family Map report by non-profit research centre Child Trends, children living in two-parent families did better in school in higher-income countries, but children in lower-income regions did better with one parent.
“In some single parenting examples, resources were controlled by the mother of the household, ensuring these resources went to the well-being of children,” says Laura Lippman, senior program area director, education, and co-investigator of the World Family Map. “It suggests that some single-parent families may not benefit from a second parent who might be taking these resources away.”
Using 10 different data sources and partnering with universities around the world, Child Trends looked at the well-being of families in both low-income and high-income countries and the outcome on their children’s education. Based on the research, two-parent families are becoming less common, marriage rates are falling and a majority of children under 17 still live at home.
Significant Statistics From The Study
Two Parents vs. Single Parent:
DID YOU KNOW? Children in Asia and the Middle East under the age of 18 are more likely to live in two-parent families, compared to other regions in the world. Also, children are more likely to live with one or no parent in the Americas, Europe, Oceania, and Sub-Saharan Africa than other regions, according to the report.
Extended Family:
DID YOU KNOW? Living with extended family, which includes parents and other relatives outside the immediate family, is more common in Asia, the Middle East, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and not any other part of the world.
Marriage:
DID YOU KNOW? Marriage rates are declining in many regions. Adults are most likely to be married in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Childbearing:
DID YOU KNOW? Childbearing rates are also declining, according to the report. The highest fertility rates are in Sub-Saharan Africa — a woman in Nigeria gives birth to an average of 5.5 children.
Living Together:
DID YOU KNOW? There have also been dramatic increases in cohabitation, divorce, and non-marital childbearing in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania over the last four decades, according to the report.
Population:
DID YOU KNOW? In the Americas and Oceania countries, women in these regions were having enough children for the population to replace itself from one generation to the next, or were slightly below these “replacement levels,” according to the report.
Non-Martial Childbearing:
DID YOU KNOW? In South America, over half of all children were born to unmarried mothers — Colombia had the highest rate at 85 per cent.
Poverty:
DID YOU KNOW? The report also looked extensively at rates of children and absolute poverty around the world. Absolute poverty was measured as the percentage of the population living below $1.25 a day. The report found Nigeria had the highest absolute poverty rate at 64 per cent.
Employment:
DID YOU KNOW? Between 45 and 97 per cent of parents polled were employed worldwide, and the highest employment rate was in Asia.
Family Life:
DID YOU KNOW? Between 31 per cent (in Russia) and 74 per cent (in Chile) of adults around the world are completely or very satisfied with their family life.
Household Work:
DID YOU KNOW? Approximately 55 per cent of couples in Russia and 88 per cent of couples in Philippines reported low levels of disagreement around household work.
Eating Together:
DID YOU KNOW? In Italy, 94 per cent of 15-year-old kids eat meals with their families regularly.
Family Structure:
DID YOU KNOW? In a majority of countries polled, respondents felt children were more likely to flourish in a home with a mother and a father. However, in Sweden, only 47 per cent of adults shared this belief compared to 99 per cent in Egypt, suggesting to World Family Map surveyors a more liberal attitude to changing family structures in certain countries.
The Magic that is Us: From Conception to Birth
This is amazing and wonderful imagery From Conception to Birth:
Pensacola Saturday, January 19th
This was a busy and fun Saturday, starting off with a productive and satisfying meeting for AdventureMan, followed by a chat in my office, during which he drifted off and snoozed for an hour while I culled my iPhoto program. Then we headed for the Fill a Bowl for Manna event, where you pay your $30 entry, pick a hand crafted bowl and proceed to eat soups from a great variety of generous Pensacola supporters. Such a wonderful variety of soups, and also – such a great support from the Pensacola community:
The lines were long, even if you had tickets in advance, but everyone was patient and good humored about waiting their turn.
From soup, we headed downtown to visit the African Art collection on display at the Pensacola Art Museum. First, we had to dodge all the colorful walkers in the Mardi Gras Run, Walk, DRAG with Color, people colored green, gold, and/or purple like the folk in the festival in India, then we had to find a parking place, dodging the police and fire people busy cleaning the streets from the chalk. The water was running green!
The African Art exhibit was a collection from a family who had lived in Western Africa and brought back fabulous pieces. Truly, the detail and artistry we were able to see close-up just blew us away:
These were so different from the other masks presented, clearly a different tribal group, different aesthetics. I called them the zombie masks for their very grey, formless, chaotic nature, and the black circle eyes:
The textiles on the walls were not identified, but we immediately recognized this sizzling textile as identical to a bedspread we had on our bed at the Grumeti Camp when we were there on the Following the Great Migration trip we took with CC Africa, now called And Beyond:
(This is not in the Pensacola Art Museum; this is our bed in the Grumeti Camp, where you can see the bedcover folded at the end; same amazing cloth:)
Late lunch at our favorite go-to local deli, the East Hill Market, and home – a very satisfying day altogether.
Obama and US Politics Today
LOL! This week’s New Yorker Magazine cover:
Online at the New Yorker you will also find this hilarious article by Andy Borowitz:
JANUARY 15, 2013
REPUBLICANS ACCUSE OBAMA OF USING POSITION AS PRESIDENT TO LEAD COUNTRY
POSTED BY ANDY BOROWITZ
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/01/republicans-accuse-obama-of-using-position-as-president-to-lead-country.html#ixzz2IRa0GZf7
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Responding to reports that President Obama is considering signing as many as nineteen executive orders on gun control, Republicans in Congress unleashed a blistering attack on him today, accusing Mr. Obama of “cynically and systematically using his position as President to lead the country.”
Spearheading the offensive was Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), who charged the President with the “wanton exploitation of powers that are legally granted to him under the U.S. Constitution.”
Calling him the “Law Professor-in-Chief,” Rep. Stockman accused Mr. Obama of “manipulating a little-known section of the Constitution,” Article II, which outlines the power of the President.
“President Obama looks down the list of all of the powers that are legally his and he’s like a kid in a candy store,” Rep. Stockman said. “It’s nauseating.”
The Texas congressman said that if Mr. Obama persists in executing the office of the Presidency as defined by the Constitution, he could face “impeachment and/or deportation.”
Noting that the President has not yet signed the executive orders on gun control, Rep. Stockman said that he hoped his stern words would serve as a wake-up call to Mr. Obama: “Mr. President, there’s still time for you to get in line. But if you continue to fulfill the duties of President of the United States that are expressly permitted in the Constitution, you are playing with fire.”
US Sex Trafficking Ring Raided
From BBC News; this is not a “victimless” crime:
Twelve arrested in US raid on Latin sex-trafficking ring
Mr Morton said the case should be a ‘wake-up call’
Another 44 people have been detained. Eleven women from Central America and Mexico, most in their 20s, were freed.
The women were reportedly forced to have sex with up to 30 men a day, charging $30 (£19) for each act.
The gang is thought to have been smuggling women since 2008, moving them to different cities every week in the south-eastern US.
The US authorities have indicted eight men and four women. Most of the other detainees are said to be clients.
The sex-trafficking ring served mostly ethnic Latino immigrants in larger cities and rural communities of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, the authorities said.
One of the indicted, a Mexican citizen, is accused of having threatened to send one woman back to Mexico if she did not have sex with at least 25 men a day.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said 967 arrests in connection with people trafficking and sex tourism were made last year alone.
“To those who would believe that sex trafficking doesn’t happen in America, reflect on this case and think again,” Mr Morton said at a news briefing.
Most of the 44 detainees were reportedly non-Americans and would face court action. Those who were illegal in the country would be deported, said Mr Morton.
The scale of human trafficking in the US is hard to gauge, but the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline, operated by Polaris Project since December 2007, has received more than 57,000 calls from every state in the union.
Incidences of sex and labour trafficking have been reported in all 50 states in the US, and the District of Columbia, in the two years leading up to 2012.
Possible Symmetry at Pensacola Ballet Feb 14 – 17
Possible Symmetry
A Ballet Pensacola Performance at the Pensacola Museum of Art
Thursday, February 14, 7 p.m.
Friday, February 15, 7 p.m.
Saturday, February 16, 7 p.m.
Sunday, February 17, 2 p.m.
Watch visual art come to life in this first-time collaboration with the Pensacola Museum of Art. Choreographers Richard Steinert and Christine Duhon will present works based on contemporary art from the collection of the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts. The works of art will be on view from February 14 – April 6 as part of the Pensacola Museum of Art’s exhibition “Possible Symmetry: Pensacola State College Permanent Collection.” Single ticket prices are $18 and are available now by calling Ballet Pensacola at 850.432.9546.
Generously sponsored by the McKenzie Law Firm.
Satanists Plan Rally For Rick Scott
Don’tcha just love Florida? You elect a governor who barely escapes conviction of multiple counts of fraud against the government, who slashes funds to education and environment, and states Florida will not participate in Obamacare (he’s had to back off that one), and now, he is backed by Satanists, LLLOOLLLL! Found this article on AOL/Huffpost:
Florida Governor Rick Scott, who suffers dismal approval ratings, has at least garnered favor with one unlikely group — Satanists.
On January 25, the members of the Satanic Temple will gather on the steps of Scott’s office in Tallahassee as a show of solidarity with the Governor, whom they believe “has shown unwavering fortitude and progressive resolve in his defense of religious liberty,” according to a press release.
Specifically, they’re referring to Scott’s recent approval of Senate Bill 98 that permits school districts to allow students to read inspirational messages of their choosing at assemblies and sporting events. It went into effect on July 12.
“The Satanic Temple embraces the free expression of religion, and Satanists are happy to show their support of Rick Scott who — particularly with SB 98 — has reaffirmed our American freedom to practice our faith openly, allowing our Satanic children the freedom to pray in school,” the release continues.
The bill dictates that school officials are not permitted to mediate, approve, or participate in these “inspirational messages,” which expand upon the two minutes of silence for quiet prayer or mediation previously observed in Florida public schools.
Although the word “prayer” was axed from early drafts of the bill, the legislation was largely seen as a way to sneak religion back into schools.
Backers of the bill, who likely didn’t have the Satanic Temple in mind, might be surprised at the group’s tenets, which include a dedication to American patriotism, the golden rule, compassion, as well as family values, according to their web site.
The groups states that while they support separation of church and state in that it protects freedom of religion, they also note that “secular authority devoid of religious guidance is an abomination, and secular authorities should not be inhibited from receiving religious guidance regarding issues of serious moral and society-wide spiritual import.”
So where does Satan come in? The temple believes he is “God’s proxy” on Earth and represents the central role of knowledge and wisdom in life.
“Satan was the force of design that urged humanity toward refined pleasures of the Arts and Sciences,” according the web site. “It was He who first brought the fruit of knowledge to Humankind that thereafter we might live not as naked brutes in the wild, but develop our cultural splendor into ever more aesthetically and technologically advanced heights.”
Their gathering in Tallahassee will be a “satanic coming out,” temple spokesperson Lucien Greaves told the Miami Helard’s Naked Politics blog. “This is not a hoax. This is for real.” More than 100 members are expected to attend the 1 p.m. rally.
Feast Day of St. Anthony
In our Lectionary Readings for today, they list today as the Feast Day for St. Antony, one of the early monastics of the Christian Church.
ANTONY
ABBOT IN EGYPT (17 JAN 356)
Before the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in 312 AD, back in the days when Christianity was still a persecuted religion, the act of becoming a Christian involved turning one’s back on the pursuit of security, of fashionable prestige and popularity, of success as the term is widely understood. After the Emperor had changed Christianity from a persecuted religion into a fashionable one, many earnest Christians felt the need to make such a renunciation in the service of Christ, and did not see mere Church membership as any longer enough to constitute such a renunciation. Accordingly, many of them sought Christian commitment by fleeing from society into the desert, and becoming hermits, devoting themselves to solitude, fasting, and prayer. Although this trend was much accelerated and reinforced by the conversion of Constantine and attendant changes, it had already begun earlier. An outstanding early example is Antony of Egypt, often reckoned as the founder of Christian monasticism.
Antony of Egypt, the son of Christian parents, inherited a large estate. On his way to church one day, he found himself meditating on the text, “Sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and come follow me.” When he got to church, he heard the preacher speaking on that very text. He took this as a message for him, and, having provided for the care of his sister, he gave his land to the tenants who lived on it, and gave his other wealth to the poor, and became a hermit, living alone for twenty years, praying and reading, and doing manual labor.
In 305, he gave up his solitude to become the head of a group of monks, living in a cluster of huts or cells, devoting themselves to communal singing and worship, to prayer and study and manual labor under Antony’s direction. They did not simply renounce the world, but were diligent in prayer for their fellow Christians, worked with their hands to earn money that they might distribute it as alms, and preached and gave personal counseling to those who sought them out.
In 321, Christians in Alexandria were being persecuted by the Emperor Maximinus (the rule of Constantine was not yet universal), and Antony visited Alexandria to encourage those facing the possibility of martyrdom. He visited again in 335, when Arianism was strong in the city, and converted many, by his preaching and testimony, and by prayer and the working of miracles. His biography was written by Athanasius, who said of him: “Who ever met him grieving and failed to go away rejoicing?”
The Forward Day by Day website summarizes St. Antony just a little differently:
Today the church remembers Antony, Abbot in Egypt, 356.
Father of Christian Monasticism Many young men of the third-century world despaired of their decaying, materialistic, and licentious society. In Egypt many fled into the desert in protest and for their own souls’ health. Sometimes their behavior became almost as bizarre and unbalanced as the behavior of those from whom they fled. This was not true of Antony. Antony’s quiet and well-ordered life of devotion in the desert stood out in contrast both to the wickedness of the contemporary world and the eccentricities of some other hermits. He gave away all his possessions to the poor and thereby freed himself from the demands of property. Still, he found that he had to fight a seemingly endless battle against his personal passions and temptations. He helped fellow Christian hermits to organize their lives in meaningful patterns of prayer, work, and meditation. His own solitude was frequently interrupted by his concern for the secular church and by requests for counseling. He was a friend to Athanasius (see May 2) and his orthodoxy was unquestionable. It has been said that, “Alone in the desert, Antony stood in the midst of mankind.”
This is not the same St. Anthony who helps you find lost things; that is St. Anthony of Padua, but when I read about this St. Anthony, and his orderly life, I thought that beating back the forces of chaos keeps things from getting lost in the first place. 🙂
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Here There and Everywhere 