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THE FAMILY AND THE NATION
through which one generation prepares another for the service of human civilization. Members of this institution desire that those who replace them should be better than themselves. Parents want to see their children happier, healthier, more educated, and better human beings than their own selves. All religions place great emphasis on the family and family values.
As societies have shifted economically from agriculture to industry, extended families have largely given way to nuclear families. Family values, also, do not remain fixed and rigid; they change in response to economic, political and cultural developments. They vary from country to country, and even among different households.
Before the twentieth century, for example, in most places and at most times, the idea of a married woman seeking status and recognition independent of her husband would have constituted a breach of family values. Many societies expected women to focus exclusively on household duties. Indeed the family is a sort of societal laboratory. Both research and experiments are carried out here.
While family values remain a rather vague concept, sociologists usually understand the term to include a combination of at least four principles: (1) support for marriage as a lasting bond between one man and one woman; (2) family organization that has the husband as the head of the household and the wife primarily as homemaker; (3) parental responsibility for and control over children's education and discipline; (4) responsibility of aged parents and interaction with other relatives. While in a typical Indian family none of the four principles is violated outright, the compliance is no more natural and voluntary. There is a lot of underlying stress.
The crux of the institution of family is the blossoming of oneness in diversity. If there are ten members in a family,
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