Red Families vs Blue Families by Naomi Cahn and June Carbone - Book Report/Review Example

Pimadej Siwapornpitak SOC 464 Christopher Carrington Due 07/09 Book review Red Families vs. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of Culture by Naomi Cahn and June Carbone Introduction The conflict in cultures in the United States embody the problems affecting developed countries most of which arise from economic disparities and the spread of urbanization. The problems show deep-rooted conflicts in family values that affect the understanding of cultural values by extrapolation. Naomi Cahn and June Carbone, professors and scholars of law, seek to investigate the nature of the conflicts that surround family values. They do this by investigating such contentious issues as same-sex marriages, divorce, single parenthood, teen pregnancies and abortion among other problems that continue to infiltrate the social fabric of the United States. In doing this, the two scholars develop their points systematically thereby proving that information economy continues to transform families thereby creating the above crises in families throughout the country as the review below portrays. The two begin by dividing their research subjects into two categories; “blue families” represent a group of well-informed and well-educated middle-class families (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 76). Such families are capable of invest in the education of their children thereby instilling in them values that sustains their growth to emotional and financial stability. The red families, on the other hand, comprise of semi-literate rural families most of whom lack financial, economic stability and are therefore equally uninformed. The two sets of families have different values with the spread of such social problems as teen pregnancies, abortions, early marriages and divorce rates remaining distinctively skewed between the two. The nature of the balance of the problems between the two groups of families enhances the conflict that characterizes the future of American culture (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 99). The family orders of the two groups of families foster the difference in the cultural values. The blue families encourage education. They encourage the use of family planning and approach sex and sexuality as a private matter (Yalom, 2002: 332). Such families enjoy access to information with their children striving to achieve financial stability. The children from such families seek education and independence with their parents creating an enabling environment for the children. Red families, on the other hand, borrow most of their values from the religious teachings. They understand the concept of guilt and sin. Additionally, such families appreciate the unity of sex, procreation and sex (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 133). Despite their understanding of such, problems of early marriages, teen pregnancies, abortions and divorces are more prevalent in red regions than in blue regions. Such statistics shows the evident lack of information in such regions. The changing economy continues to undermine abstinence thereby making it difficult for children in such families to preserve their sexual purity, especially in their 20s. Geography and distribution of populations are yet another factor that continues to foster the divide between the two families thereby enhancing the eminent cultural conflicts. Most blue families live in urban areas. In the cities and towns, the families enjoy immense technological advancement and ease of accessing information. The families enjoy technological advancement both in health care and in education. With such advantages, the children from such families make more informed decisions than their red counterparts most of whom occupy rural setups. Red families are less mobile and less educated than blue families. Additionally, the red families are religious as is the case in most rural and low-income settlements (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 242). Geographic separation limits the spread of the cultures predominant in each region to another region. This implies that the cultures continue to spread in their respective regions a feature that enhances the conflict in the resultant cultures in the same country. The spreading information economy fosters the growth of economic inequality, which in turn influences the partisan conflict. Increased financial independence of women and female children in blue families makes it possible for them to make important decisions on issues that affect their lives. Such women decide when to give birth, the spacing of the pregnancies and the number of children to have (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 219). Their understanding of families and children is unique with the researchers explaining that they understand family formation to take place when the society can rely on adults to do the right things and do them right. Furthermore, they understand the need for both financial and emotional resources in forming families. Women in red families do not afford such luxuries. The poverty in their families forces some to prostitution while those in early marriages rely on their equally uninformed partners for all the important decisions including the number of children to have. Such skewed family compositions result in early pregnancies, abortions and divorces among other social ills that characterize their neighborhoods (Yalom, 2002: 341). After successfully analyzing the nature of the social problem in the United States, the two scholars attempt to provide a solution by encouraging various stakeholders to investigate and debate the issue with the view to ironing out the evident cultural conflicts between the two set of families. The discussion of the nature of the cultural crisis in the country shows that the poorest people are likely to have numerous social problems in their neighborhoods. This explains the social structure in African American and Latino neighborhoods (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 297). The two communities have some of the highest poverty rates. They also have the highest rates of single parents, underage pregnancies and divorces among other social problems. The scholars explain that the sooner the society finds solutions for such problems, the better the country will be for future generations. Key among the viable solutions to the problems is moral authority coupled with government’s imposition of cultural values most of which encourage abstinence. The church has a role to play and has often had immense successes in some areas. However, in areas where the church has failed, the government must make policies that safeguard the traditional relationship between men and women and the composition of families (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 277). After raising the serious social problems that face the country, the two scholars conclude by stating that the country requires honest conversations in order to carry out genuine and effective family law reform. The country must abolish their political differences with the government acknowledging that the red and blue families live different lives. The fact that conservatives have begun calling for the separation of politics from religion and liberals supporting marital commitment and fidelity shows the willingness of the two conflicting parties to pacify the cultural conflicts that arise from differences in family values (Cahn & Carbone, 2010: 199). The resolutions of the two coupled with their analysis of the problem is similar to the explanation of other scholars including Marylyn Yalom, who investigates the historical and changing role of a wife. The author contends that the changing lifestyle requires a new type of a wife, one who is submissive to her husband but is independent enough to make effective decisions for the family (Yalom, 2002: 291). Naomi Cahn and June Carbone are established scholars who understand the legal and social aspects of the problems they address in their book. The two professors have the moral and academic authority to research the topical issue. Furthermore, they do by following follow empirical research findings. In doing this they contribute to the growth of knowledge and the resolution of a major social and cultural problem that continues to bedevil the country. The two have adequate experience in conducting social researching and in writing research reports. They do so in simple sentences and strive to provide adequate evidence of their findings thereby making it easy to understand and compare their research findings and conclusions to existing researches. In retrospect, the two scholars investigate the nature of cultural conflicts arising from the differences in family value(s), a topic that I have always had an immense interest in understanding. For a long time, I believed that there was a relationship between poverty and such social problems as abortions, the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, early pregnancies and diseases. By linking the problems to family values and the modern information economy, the two scholars made it clear. They backed their claims with scientific evidence. They further provide evidence that prove that changing family values is the surest way of resolving the looming cultural conflict between two groups of American families. References Cahn, N. & Carbone, J. (2010). Red Families v. Blue Families: Legal Polarization and the Creation of Culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Yalom, M. (2002). A history of the wife. New York: Perennial. Read More