Broadening the Family Values Debate
by TChris
What are the family values we hear so much about? Do they encompass any values beyond conservative opposition to abortion and gay marriage? Two articles in today's New York Times broaden the debate.
The group Take Back Your Time favors legislation that would require employers to give employees paid time off to care for a sick child. Says John de Graaf, its national coordinator:
"This is completely about family values. People need time to have strong marriages, strong families and strong communities. When people don't have enough time, families can break down."
A different take on family values comes from black ministers who oppose the "Black Contract with America on Moral Values," a pledge that highlights opposition to gay marriage and abortion as top priorities. The leaders of four black Baptist conventions set aside their differences to reach a concensus on other moral issues of concern to their 15 million parishoners.
At the end of their four-day session, the ministers called for an end to the war in Iraq and withdrawal of American troops. They declared their opposition to the confirmation of Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general. They stated their opposition to making the president's tax cuts permanent, and warned that reductions in spending on children's health care programs would be "immoral."
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