The Broken Hearth : Reversing the Moral Collapse of the American Family

Rating:
Summary: Some important truths about us
Review: I am sure Mr. Bennett is used to ad hominem attacks, as in Mr. Zimmerle's review of this book. While I don't agree with everything Mr. Bennett has to say, he's pretty much on the mark here.

Mr. Bennett starts with a review of the current state of our culture, which could be summed up as "do your own thing". He then provides a brief historical background on the way marriage and family evolved. Some of his better points come in a chapter entitled "Cohabitation, Illigitimacy, Fatherlessness". The biggest problem facing the black community in this country is not racism; it fatherlessness. Eighty percent of black children are born out of wedlock. This is profound.

As for cohabitation, if you read between the lines the message is pretty clear: women have been duped. There is much less respect for women now than 30 years ago. Further, despite its "common-sense" appeal, cohabitation is much more unfavorable to women than marriage.

Bennett addresses the push by homosexuals to be able to "marry". The one point I am in total agreement with him here is that homosexuals want more than "equal rights"; they want societal "approval" of their lifestyle. If history is any teacher at all, we know this is something we dare not allow.

Up until 1950 or so, the strength of this country came from our social fabric; those that deviated from established norms received public censure. This is no longer the case. In this respect, America is most certainly in deline. Can it recover in time, or at all? Mr. Bennett's proposed solutions will not be very successful unless we can "unprogram" an entire generation. Through movies and television, young people have been programmed to think of their own gratification first and foremost. Until that is changed, any significant progress towards restoring the importance of marriage and commitment will be greatly impeded.

Rating:
Summary: Simple and to the point
Review: Personally, I didn't take a stand on any factors of the breakdown of the family. I lived my life from my heart, for my children and my marriage, knowing it was the right thing for me. After reading this book I can see the purpose and strength of family and the union of male/female marriage....in writing. I am requiring my older children to read this book for a broader perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Another Fine Mess We¿ve Gotten Ourselves Into
Review: William Bennett has a knack for turning out relatively short books that manage to be both timely and timeless. The Broken Hearth shines a spotlight on the deteriorating state of the nuclear family. In a straightforward manner, he advocates common sense and traditional virtues. He intellectually articulates obvious facts which are far too often simplistically dismissed as antediluvian or discriminatory by powerful forces throughout society. One of Mr. Bennett's strong points is his dedication to veraciously stating the facts--even when they prove to be very inconvenient.

Discussing the spiraling rate of single parent households, he ignores the feel-good cliches and boldy says, "in attempting to raise children without two parents, we are seeing on a massive scale, the voluntary breakup of the minimal family unit. This is historically unprecedented, an authentic cultural revolution and I believe socially calamitous." Then Rather than citing specious studies showing the veritable irrelevance of parents, he acknowledges some of these much-ballyhooed findings and astutely refutes them.

The subject of gay marriage has become very controversial and even many who know how deleterious and debased the concept is, shy from enunciating the problems with such a notion. Here Mr. Bennett truly deserves commendation for his head-on approach in arguing the sensible, but politically untenable position against imploding the sanctity of marriage. He writes the truth in all its unpopular, activist-enraging glory, "tolerance means treating people with respect and without malice; it does not require us to dissolve social norms or to weaken our commitment to ancient and honorable beliefs." While legions of movers and hordes of shakers will cringe at the mention of it, Mr. Bennett hits a home run with "if same-sex marriage were to prevail, society would have to accept certain basic assumptions; it would have to accept that Jewish and Christian understanding of marriage and family life is simply wrong." While his couragous statement is potent as is, to further enforce his argument and co-opt a politically correct shibboleth to boot, he could have added that Islam, Buddhism, and several other religions view the concept of homosexuality marriage as decadent and are far more condemning of it that Judaism and Christianity. Equally polemic is the painfully true statement that "for homosexuals themselves gay liberation has wrought much agony, instability, promiscuity, and early death." Still his blunt acknowledgement shows compassion that activists often lack; not everyone is happy in the sexually uninhibited gay lifestyle.

In perhaps the book's most appropriate passage, he countervails the charge that conservatives overlook the transgressions of like-minded players. Mr. Bennett validly denounces Newt Gingrich for the extra-marital affair, and he gets to the heart of the former Speaker's peccadillo. Too many conservatives concentrated on the authentic difference that Bill Clinton's adultery lead to felonious crimes, while Newt was merely morally guilty. Mr. Bennett wisely ignores that diversionary fact in chastising Gingrich for his serious wrongdoing. He comments that "to the degree that Newt Gingrich was criticized, and he was, it was for his hypocrisy...Gingrich's hypocrisy was disturbing, but so too were his actions."

"The Broken Hearth" offers no banal quick-fix to a crisis that has been decades in the making, but it comprehensively summarizes the precariousness of where we now find ourselves. Hopefully it will serve as an impetus for a few readers to reevaluate their lives. A problem that didn't develop overnight will not be solved quickly either.