Conservatives have long held that the family, not the government, is the fundamental unit of society. Strong families are the cornerstone of strong communities, and strong communities sustain a great nation.
This view is grounded in the Bible and in reason. So long as we prioritize the family as an institution established by God, we can thrive. This is the theme of my latest book, titled The Perilous Fight: Overcoming our Culture’s War on the American Family. In it, I document the decline of America’s family unit and traditional values — and the downstream effects that has on a nation.
Today, we don’t need to look very far to see those effects in action. As our families have collapsed, so too has our societal trust, our national unity, and the integrity of our institutions. We have failed an entire generation of people, and all you have to do is look at the current state of America to see that failure in action.
One of the most recent examples has been the wave of protests that have swept across college campuses and smeared the reputations of our once-elite institutions. While free speech is one of our nation’s bedrock values, there must be no tolerance for criminally vested support of terrorism or murder. During these protests, we have seen students occupy buildings and campus spaces, disrupt functions, graffiti and desecrate buildings and structures, threaten and intimidate Jewish students, and even demand that their finals be canceled.
The colleges and universities that coddle this behavior are not fulfilling their basic obligations to keep their students safe, nor are they preparing students to live as productive citizens. These protests are a national embarrassment, and these students are acting like playground bullies. Protesters in breach of college rules should be swiftly punished and their childish antics should be shut down — not accommodated.
The university system isn’t the only American institution in decline, however.
According to recent surveys, Generation Z adults are less likely than older generations to join an established religion, and those who do identify as “religious” are similarly moving away from Christianity and shedding any religious affiliation. Partly as a result of this, last year our nation had the lowest birthrate in a century, with just 3.6 million babies born — a 3% drop from 2022. Fertility rates have also fallen to 1.6 births per woman, also the lowest in a century and well below the 2.1 births a civilization needs to sustain itself.
A big reason for this decline is that young people are now choosing to forgo children and pursue what some have called “the new American dream,” which is a dual-income household with no children, focused instead on luxury and indulgence rather than building families and rearing up the next generation of leaders.
It should come as no surprise that our young people are shedding traditional lifestyles as well. Today, nearly 30% of Generation Z identifies as LGBT, compared to just 4% of baby boomers and the Silent Generation, suggesting that cultural influences and social policies are playing a major role in this shift. Young people have also suffered a mental health crisis, resulting in surging depression, drug overdoses, suicides and suicide attempts, eating disorders, and more.
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All of these destructive externalities directly correlate with the decline of the nuclear family and its role in American life. For decades now, the Left has declared war on faith and traditional values, and used the full force of government to drive these things out of the public square.
Now, the public — and particularly young people — is paying the price. This cultural crisis will only continue to worsen if we do not work to restore our institutions by first restoring our families. It is incumbent on each of us to do our part in reasserting our values, living our faith, and restoring our country to its former glory.
Dr. Ben Carson is the founder and chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute.