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View Full Version : Governmental Models: Stern or Nuturing



Diva667
Oct 19, 2011, 11:23 AM
Someone I know on facebook posted this, I've been thinking about this and it seems true.

What do you all think?


The Strict Father Model. A traditional nuclear family with the father having primary responsibility for the well-being of the household. The mother has day-to-day responsibility for the care of the house and details of raising the children. But the father has primary responsibility for setting overall family policy, and the mother's job is to be supportive of the father and to help carry out the father's views on what should be done. Ideally, she respects his views and supports them.

Life is seen as fundamentally difficult and the world as fundamentally dangerous. Evil is conceptualized as a force in the world, and it is the father's job to support his family and protect it from evils -- both external and internal. External evils incLude enemies, hardships, and temptations. Internal evils come in the form of uncontrolled desires and are as threatening as external ones. The father embodies the values needed to make one's way in the world and to support a family: he is morally strong, self-disciplined, frugal, temperate, and restrained. He sets an example by holding himself to high standards. He insists on his moral authority, commands obedience, and when he doesn't get it, metes out retribution as fairly and justly as he knows how. It is his job to protect and support his family, and he believes that safety comes out of strength.

In addition to support and protection, the father's primary duty is tell his children what is right and wrong, punish them when they do wrong, and to bring them up to be self-disciplined and self-reliant. Through self-denial, the children can build strength against internal evils. In this way, he teaches his children to be self-disciplined, industrious, polite, trustworthy, and respectful of authority.

The strict father provides nurturance and expresses his devotion to his family by supporting and protecting them, but just as importantly by setting and enforcing strict moral bounds and by inculcating self-discipline and self-reliance through hard work and self-denial. This builds character. For the strict father, strictness is a form of nurturance and love -- tough love.

The strict father is restrained in showing affection and emotion overtly, and prefers the appearance of strength and calm. He gives to charity as an expression of compassion for those less fortunate than he and as an expression of gratitude for his own good fortune.

Once his children are grown -- once they have become self-disciplined and self-reliant -- they are on their own and must succeed or fail by themselves; he does not meddle in their lives, just as he doesn't want any external authority meddling in his life.


The Nurturant Parent Model. The family is of either one or two parents. Two are generally preferable, but not always possible.

The primal experience behind this model is one of being cared for and cared about, having one's desires for loving interactions met, living as happily as possible, and deriving meaning from one's community and from caring for and about others.

People are realized in and through their "secure attachments": through their positive relationships to others, through their contribution to their community, and through the ways in which they develop their potential and find joy in life. Work is a means toward these ends, and it is through work that these forms of meaning are realized. All of this requires strength and self-discipline, which are fostered by the constant support of, and attachment to, those who love and care about you.

Protection is a form of caring, and protection from external dangers takes up a significant part of the nurturant parent's attention. The world is filled with evils that can harm a child, and it is the nurturant parent's duty to be ward them off. Crime and drugs are, of course, significant, but so are less obvious dangers: cigarettes, cars without seat belts, dangerous toys, inflammable clothing, pollution, asbestos, lead paint, pesticides in food, diseases, unscrupulous businessmen, and so on. Protection of innocent and helpless children from such evils is a major part of a nurturant parent's job.

Children are taught self-discipline in the service of nurturance: to take care of themselves, to deal with existing hardships, to be responsible to others, and to realize their potential. Children are also taught self-nurturance: the intrinsic value of emotional connection with others, of health, of education, of art, of communion with the natural world, and of being able to take care of oneself. In addition to learning the discipline required for responsibility and self-nurturance, it is important that children have a childhood, that they learn to develop their imaginations, and that they just plain have fun.

Through empathizing and interacting positively with their children, parents develop close bonds with children and teach them empathy and responsibility towards others and toward society. Nurturant parents view the family as a community in which children have commitments and responsibilities that grow out of empathy for others. The obedience of children comes out of love and respect for parents, not out of fear of punishment. When children do wrong, nurturant parents choose restitution over retribution whenever possible as a form of justice. Retribution is reserved for those who harm their children.

The pursuit of self-interest is shaped by these values: anything inconsistent with these values is not in one's self-interest. Pursuing self-interest, so understood, is a means for fulfilling the values of the model.
http://www.leftake.com/diary/1207/george-lakoffs-model-of-stern-parentnurturant-parent-viewpoints

The premise is a simple one: Those of us who are more liberal tend to the nurturant parent image of government and those of us who are more conservative tend toward the strict parent image.

Thoughts?

jamieknyc
Oct 19, 2011, 11:33 AM
On the contrary, most liberals think of government as being in bed with Wall Street.

silberwolf1960
Oct 19, 2011, 2:30 PM
I love my country, but fear my government.:2cents:

Realist
Oct 19, 2011, 2:52 PM
I agree, Wolf,

They've been scaring me for years..............both sides; Democrats and Republicans!

I agree that strict, but fair and loving parents seem to raise the most successful children........as a rule.

Although, I knew one guy who's parents were the most despicable examples you could imagine, but he rose above that. (thanks to a teacher) Instead of listening to his parents, he let the teacher guide him away from their influence into adulthood. As far as I know, he's the only successful member of that tribe!

RavenEye
Oct 19, 2011, 7:22 PM
I grew up in a household where it's Christian ideology is that a man is the "head of household" but my mother is too strong willed for that shit so they fought constantly over it. So I grew up neither of those circumstances. I grew up in a more "If you want it you got to take it by yourself" kind of way. And as fir love and care? HA! I can't even remember the last time. But like Realist's friend I overcame all of that. My children will know love and care. They will not be forced into any religion. And my lover and I will be EQUALS.

darkeyes
Oct 19, 2011, 8:27 PM
I grew up in a household where it's Christian ideology is that a man is the "head of household"...


I grew up in a very macho society in a non religious household where the man is the head of the household.. and my mum gives my dad permission to say so...:bigrin:

DuckiesDarling
Oct 19, 2011, 11:40 PM
Government Models? Don't make me laugh, the nuclear family went out the window a very long time ago.

Having said that I grew up in a Stern Nurturing household with two Christian parents, one from Union Christian Church who used to force me to go with her and one from the Church of Christ who didn't attend any services at my mother's church because his theology would not allow music during services.

My parents are both lifelong Republicans and generally good people. (My personal problems with my mother doesn't mean she is not a good person but at times not a good mother.) They raised their children to think for themselves and I am Wiccan and Democrat and follow my own path much to their dismay with some of my choices like finding my next husband in New Zealand, but without the foundation of my childhood my life would have much less meaning.