The problem with social conservatism is that it backs good people into a corner, whether it’s Utah leading the nation in pornography consumption or the litany of Republican politicians who dip their wick outside their marriage bed. As much as we might enjoy the downfall of hypocrites like Sanford and other self-righteous politicians from the right, the social conservative agenda also has huge implications on real people.
In the “blue” states, where abstinence is pushed on to teenagers and contraception is limited, family values like divorce and teenage pregnancy are up. And it’s only getting worse as we recover from the worse economic downturn since the Great Depression. Conversely, it turns out the people who live in “blue” states are succeeding at marriage and “family values” more than the families in “red” states.
A new “blue” family paradigm has handsomely rewarded those who invest in women’s as well as men’s education and defer childbearing until the couple is better established. These families, concentrated in urban areas and the coasts, have seen their divorce rates fall back to the level of the 1960s, incomes rise, and nonmarital births remain rare. With later marriage has also come greater stability and less divorce.
But all is not lost as the authors of Red Families v. Blue Families suggest the following steps to alleviate the family values woes experienced in the “red” states:
(1) promote access to contraception – within marriage as well as outside it
(2) develop a greater ability to combine not only work and family, but family and education
(3) make sure the next generation stays in school, learns the skills to be employed, and cultivates values that can adapt to the future.