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JD Vance on Families & Children |
In the recorded video, Vance suggested that the "sexual revolution" was to blame for people being too quick to leave their marriages. He further stated that a person shouldn't necessarily seek a divorce due to a violent spouse, and said that the victim of the violence should try to make things work to ensure their child's happiness and well-being in the long term. His comments contradict what experts say is best for adults and children in those situations.
"Maybe it worked out for the moms and dads, though I'm skeptical. But it really didn't work out for the kids of those marriages," he claimed. "And that's what I think all of us should be honest about, is we've run this experiment in real time. And what we have is a lot of very, very real family dysfunction that's making our kids unhappy."
Decades of research back up say that "staying together for the kids" is not always the best option for couples.
In an HBO documentary about eastern Kentucky hill people, the patriarch of a large Appalachian family introduces himself by drawing strict lines between work acceptable for men and work acceptable for women. While it's obvious what he considers "women's work," it's not at all clear what work, if any, is acceptable for him. Apparently not paid employment, since the man has never worked a paying job in his life. Ultimately, the verdict of his own son is damning; "Daddy says he's worked in his life. Why not be straight about it. Pa? Daddy was an alcoholic. He would stay drunk, he didn't bring food home. Mommy supported her young'uns. If it hadn't been for Mommy, we'd have been dead."