Poverty is not the root cause

National Post, Thursday, August 18, 2005

Re: Poverty Leads To Violence, Letters, Aug. 16.

Although poverty is a factor, we must go beyond the one-dimensional analysis that it is the root cause of violence. Who can deny the importance of upbringing in a child's development?

Our culture is fast becoming indifferent to the environment in which a child is raised. Historically, a child could count on having the continued presence of both mother and father in the home (a culture of fidelity and long term commitment in marriage prevailed).

Now, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, co-habitation (with more frequent family breakup), easy divorce and now same-sex marriage have betrayed that trust. Children are being deprived of the continued presence of both their parents and the role model of a successful (yet at times challenging) marriage relationship. In particular, in many broken relationships, children miss their fathers.

How important is the presence of a father in the home? Let us quote from the World Congress of Families: "Kids who grow up without a father never experience that special sense of security and the enhanced feeling of belonging that come from having a father in the home. So they seek it elsewhere. They don't get that sweet feeling of triumph that comes from a father's approval, or the warmth of the old man's hug, or the wisdom to be drawn from his discipline."

Rather than lament that poverty leads to violence and just throw money at poverty, the more accurate assessment is that the absence of a strong marriage culture and its attendant family breakdown lead to poverty and violence. What are we doing to strengthen the institution of marriage?

Louis DeSerres, National Coordinator,

Preserve Marriage - Protect Children's Rights, Montreal.