This brings me to the obvious question: If the effects of family breakdown are indisputably calamitous, why are we so intent on accelerating the breakdown? Whether it?s the refusal to treat two-parent families as normative in textbooks, an increasing problem, or the deconstruction of marriage inherent in the campaign for same-sex ?marriage,? the effect is the same: The one institution that we depend on to instill ?the basic self-control and reciprocity that a free society takes for granted? is diminished.

That?s because marriage, in the sense of working together as a team and making the sacrifices necessary to raise good kids, is hard work. If people are taught that it?s merely one lifestyle choice among many, we are more likely to opt for an easier way of living. Then it will be a case, as Morse demonstrates, of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind.

That?s why we need to help our neighbors understand what?s at stake in the debate over the family and the Federal Marriage Amendment. They may think that we?re talking about purely private choices, but as corrections officials will tell you, the consequences are often all too public.

For further reading and information:

Jennifer Roback Morse, ? Parents or Prisons ,? Policy Review, August 2003.

Patrick F. Fagan, ? The Breakdown of the Family ,? Issues ?98: The Candidate?s Briefing Book, Heritage Foundation.

Patrick F. Fagan, ? The Real Root Cause of Violent Crime: The Breakdown of the Family ,? Imprimis, Hillsdale  College, October 1995. ( Adobe Acrobat Reader  required.)

Charles Colson and Anne Morse , ? Societal Suicide ,? Christianity Today, June 2004. (Reprinted at BreakPoint Online.)

BreakPoint Commentary No. 040512, ? From Prisons to Politics: Where Worldview Takes Us .?

Marilyn Elias, ? Men from traditional homes are more the ?marrying kind? ,? USA Today, 22 June 2004 .

Visit the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy website .

Visit the Smart Marriages website .

Visit Justice Fellowship?s website  for more information on criminal justice reform.

See BreakPoint?s sanctity of marriage resource page .

Visit One Hundred Thousand Ministers  for information on what pastors can do.

Call 1-877-322-5527 to request the free BreakPoint marriage amendment information packet and the free ?Talking Points on Marriage and Same-Sex Unions.? Also available is the Speak the Truth in Love kit (suggested donation: $25).