Confronting with the Challenge of Unwed Motherhood and Single Parenthood - Essay Example

Confronting with the Challenge of Unwed Motherhood and Single Parenthood The present paper aims to explore the causes, affects and consequences of the constant increase in the number and proportion of unwed mothers in the most modern country of the world i.e. the USA. The main reason behind investigating the phenomenon includes the horrible consequences of the single parenthood a significant number of the present day American children undergo while getting brought up under single others. Blank & Kovak (2008) lay stress upon a focus on changes in economic need among single mother families is desirable for high child poverty rates in the United States. They submit to state that single mothers generally belong to the lower stratum, and could generate their earnings as less-skilled single mothers, which are not sufficient for the proper feeding, clothing and education of their children (29). In addition, such a perturbed state of affairs is also inviting ruination of law and order situation, as the unwed mothers and their children remain under the fear of becoming victim of assaults and abuses of various kinds because of the absence of the shelter and protecting hand on their heads in the person of father. As a result, crime rate witnesses imperative increase along with the deteriorating socioeconomic condition of the families belonging to the unwed mothers. The political authorities, law enforcing agencies and civil rights activists are interested to combat with the grave challenge in order to set the US society free from the awkward clutches of criminal assaults, poverty and moral decline. Theories have been articulated and researches have been conducted in order to discover the reasons behind the growing phenomenon challenging the very roots of spiritual, ethical and moral fabrics of the society nearly four fifth of the total population of which claims to be the adherent of the Christian religious belief system. Since Christianity vehemently lays stress upon following the morality according to the commandments of the Lord manifestly elucidated in the Holy Scripture, setting aside its golden principles are creating such challenges that appear to be damaging all the institutions of social establishment on the one hand, and inviting financial embarrassments and socio-cultural mortifications on the other. The moralists are of the view that the uncontrolled sexualization of children has spawned a generation of adults who have delved into every perversion under the sun. Relationships have also become twisted and perverted. This has devastated marriages, which are now more likely to end in divorce than not (The Immorality Explosion, 3). As a result, the social problems including poverty, lawlessness, unemployment, pathetic life standard, high crime rate, ethno-racial hatred and others appear to be devouring the national resources swiftly, and putting the economy of the country into grave jeopardy. The theorists are of the opinion that weakening of social norms and moral values is a normal phenomenon. By looking into the history of cultures and civilizations of the world at large, it looks crystal clear that every revolution, ever took place on the face of the earth from the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras to the contemporary one, has brought about several unpleasant and untoward cultural traits in society along with introducing with the intention of introducing some positive alterations to the individuals. For instance, the industrial revolution 1750 had augmented the class differences between the individuals, while famous French Revolution 1789 had inflicted cruelties and atrocities upon the political rivals of those at the helm of the government affairs in the name of justice and equality. Eighteenth century industrialization had led to an increase in the number of young women moving from rural to urban centers, which introduced a corresponding increase in the number of adolescent pregnancies and unmarried mothers, as family constraints imposed on young women were weakened (SIECCAN, 2007). Similarly, twentieth century Bolshevik Revolution in Russia witnessed massive moral and financial corruptions and irregularities in the wake of big claims made by the revolutionaries in respect of turning the Russian society into a peaceful and classless social establishment. The same is applied to the present day technological revolution, which though has turned life fast, speedy and amazing one in all respects, yet has paved the way towards pushing the masses far away from the religious teachings and moral values in the aftermath of it. On the one side, astounding developments in the fields of communication and navigation, health and education, administration and ammunition and trade and business have increased the work hours for the individuals, and on the other side, the technological advancements have bestowed vast opportunities of leisure time amusements and recreation for the people belonging to divergent strata of society. The concept of extra marital sexual relationships at massive scale with the persons of one’s choice without taking the partner’s race, ethnicity, religion, age and gender even is rightly stated to be the outcome of growing technological advancements of modern life. Consequently, the people get involved into sexual intercourse with their friends, colleagues, and companions without any restriction or hurdles altogether. It is particularly the case with the adolescents and teenagers, for whom sexual activities certainly are the source of delight, thrill, pleasure and excitement (Macionis, 2008). Somehow, teenage is the time when man does not have any perception about the affects and consequences of the activities they are going to perform. Consequently, the adolescents in their early youth get indulged into sexual intercourse by focusing on quenching the thirst of their carnal desires, and do not bother to apply security measures in order to avoid pregnancies and transmission of the most fatal contagious diseases from one body to the other. Eventually, the teenager girls not only become mothers at such a young age, where they themselves are in need of care, protection and feeding; however, they become responsible for the brought up, feeding and clothing their young ones because of their illicit and extra marital relationships at such young years of life generally spent in playing and studying only. Financial instabilities and pecuniary crises serve as the most perturbed ones for an overwhelming majority of single mothers, where it appears to be very difficult for them to meet the basic needs of their children. It includes food , clothing, school fees , maintaining the previous standard of living and meet personal expense. Data was collected to determine information regarding earning prior to marriage, financial problems faced after husband’s death, present source of income, present financial problems faced by single mother, help reeked during financial crises. The critics declare people’s having access to the pornographic websites, films and journals through the internet and other sources, which result into the urge to perform the same in one way or the other. It is therefore the U.S. Supreme Court in 1960s issued rulings that how the country should have dealt with the pornography mania through censorship. These were rulings regarding the imported books: Lady Chatterley's Lover, Tropic of Cancer, and Fanny Hill (Rembar, 1968), which could not legally be published in America. However, allowing the same drastically caused a flow of pornographic material in the country, resulting into the further deterioration of moral values on the one hand, and in the increase of probabilities of teen-age sexual relationships as well as unwed pregnancies subsequently. It is therefore, Betty Friedan criticized pornography in these words: “Get off the pornography kick and face the real obscenity of poverty. No matter how repulsive we may find pornography, laws banning books or movies for sexually explicit content could be far more dangerous to women. The pornography issue is dividing the women's movement and giving the impression on college campuses that to be a feminist is to be against sex” (Abel, 1985). The analysts are justified in claiming that contemporary US society is undergoing the grave challenge of constant multiplication of unwed mothers, which has drastically affected the socioeconomic situation of the individuals associated with the same problem. On the one side, it is destroying the life of the teenager unwed mothers, and on the other side, the problem appears to be putting the life and future of the young ones into grave jeopardy. Moreover, scarcity of food, clothing and shelter paves the way towards uncontrolled increase in crime rates and delinquent behavior in its wake. It is adversely destroying the life and honor of adolescent girls by putting undue and unnecessary burden of responsibilities on them at a very young age. It is also paving the way towards moral and financial decline of society (Anderson, 2007). The most enduring of the reasons to look into the matter and tackle it carefully includes that the challenge may produce weak, unhealthy, immoral and delinquent generation along with damaging the moral values prevailing in society. In addition, it could pollute the entire society by influencing the concept of extra-marital activities upon the fellow beings. Consequently, unchecked and uncontrolled expansion of extra marital relationships as well as unwed pregnancies may be startling for the social and moral points of view. The statistics reveal that the problem raised its ugly head in the aftermath of the society’s granting permission of all types of sexual activities with consent of both the parties. In addition, the advent of uncontrolled freedom to the members of society by declaring statutes of law and moral values as two separate entities allowed the youth to get involved into the practices of their choice, where no one would stop them from performing the same altogether. There was a time when the parents and teachers maintained complete and unconditional check on the activities of the young people; somehow, only this that the boys and girls respected their elders, but also they were not allowed to go out of the house without their prior permission. Moreover, sex was a strict taboo, which could only be enjoyed by the married couples belonging to the opposite gender groups. Inclusion of civil rights in the name of shameful freedom has ruined the social and moral values of society to a great extent. Granting of permission to the individuals to live with the individual of his/her choice without any discrimination of gender, age, race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status etc projected immorality and debauchery in society. Only few thinkers belonging to the Devlin’s school of thought advocated the imposition and observing of moral laws; while a large majority of so-called enlightened theorists supported the idea of freedom to a horrible scale. Socioeconomic activities of the individuals involved into adolescent pregnancies, where the entire social establishment, because of the very possibility of the unwed mothers’ involvement in prostitution and other deviant behaviors on the one hand, and their children’s possible becoming the victim of torture, assaults, sexual abuse and starvation etc. Works Cited Abel, G. G., Mittelman, M. S., & Becker, J. V. (1985). "Sexual Offenders: Results of assessment and recommendations for treatment." In M. H. Ben-Aron, S. J. Huckle, & C. D. 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