"Jerry Falwell Sees a Threat to the American Family", extracted from "Listen, America", Jerry Falwell

Résumé du document

After the Second World War, American women required more rights, more freedom and more equality with men. As a consequence the structure of the families changed, roles altered. In 1980, Jerry Falwell wrote Listen, America, from which "Jerry Falwell Sees a Threat to the American Family" is extracted. According to the author, the modernization of the USA endangers the traditional family and the Christianity. Even if it could have reduced divorces, the American families couldn't have returned to the traditional family described in the Bible. A lot of women wouldn't have been down to the social position they have had before. Women emancipation was unavoidable.

Extraits

[...] He was right when he talked about all the bad consequences of the divorce on children, but he didn't propose any solution for married people who came to ‘hate each other' (l.105). In this case, it may be better for the children to separate the parents because it was proved that children were happier in a family with one parent, than in constant quarrels[18]. Besides, the most of divorced people get married again of women and 5/6 of men.[19] Finally he refused modernization but paradoxically, he used mass media, particularly television to spread his ideas[20]. [...]

[...] Falwell found several causes to the changes in the family's structure. He first denounced television programs (l.17) as guilty of increasing divorces, because they shown divorced parents, but also ‘homosexuality and adultery', which were, according to him, a bad example which could be revealed dangerous for the future of family unit”. Moreover he also accused the “cult of the playboy” (l.34) which was in fact the sexual revolution. According to him, this new lifestyle, adopted first by men, and then by women with feminist revolution' (l.42) favored ‘self-satisfaction' at the expense of family (l.46). [...]

[...] John Dean, American Popular Culture, Nancy, Presse universitaire de Nancy page 207. André Kaspi, Claude-Jean Bertrand, Jean Heffer, La Civilisation Américaine, Paris, Presse universitaire de France page 43. Mary Beth Norton, David Katzman, David Blight, Howard Chudacoff, Thomas Paterson, William Tuttle, Paul Escott, A People and a Nation, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company page 872. Stanley and Eleanor Hochman, The penguin Dictionary of contemporary American history, New York, Penguin References page 347. Harold Evans, The American Century, New York, Alfred A.Knopf page 628. [...]

[...] Barniskis, “Scenario for a New Serfdom” www.libertyhaven.com/noneoftheabove/whataboutthefuture/scenarioserfdom.shtml Harold Evans, The American Century, New York, Alfred A.Knopf page 629. CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology, September André Kaspi, Claude-Jean Bertrand, Jean Heffer, La Civilisation Américaine, Paris, Presse universitaire de France page 42. André Kaspi, Claude-Jean Bertrand, Jean Heffer, La Civilisation Américaine, Paris, Presse universitaire de France page 43. Neil Campbell and Alasdair Kean, American Cultural Studies, London and New York, Routledge page 114. Stanley and Eleanor Hochman, The penguin Dictionary of contemporary American history, New York, Penguin References page 347. [...]

[...] Jerry Falwell was right to revolt against this increasing insecurity for the children, but was it really the aim of his text? Who did Falwell believed to be guilty of the increase in divorces? Women who worked at the expense of the family or men who let them do it and shouldn't as decision makers'? Bibliography Barniskis, Andrew “Scenario for a New Serfdom” www.libertyhaven.com/noneoftheabove/whataboutthefuture/scenarioserfdom.sht ml Campbell, Neil & Kean, Alasdair, American Cultural Studies, London and New York, Routledge pages CNN,www.cnn.com, September Dean, John, American Popular Culture, Nancy, Presse universitaire de Nancy pages. [...]