Education, law, politics,
religion, and art are impregnated with this spirit. As the
ultimate family-the homogeneous family of families-the nation
asserts its permanency as a reflection of the permanency of its
constituent atoms. When deterioration occurs in the conditions
that make literacy possible and necessary, many of the
permanencies associated with literacy, including the
interpersonal relations adapted to it, or the homogeneity of
nations, fail. As we entertain the prospect that nations, as
definable political entities, might disappear, we automatically
wonder whether the family, as a definable social entity, will
survive-and if yes, in what form.
What breaks down when family fails?
The downfall of nations and empires has been attributed to the
breakdown of the family. The weakening of family has been cited
as a cause of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Anti-abortionists and other traditionalists in the United States
blame the breakdown in traditional family values for many of the
social ills of our day. Now that the royal children in Great
Britain are divorced, people wonder how long the monarchy will
last.
One of the symptoms of the civilization of illiteracy is the
perceived breakdown of family. Simultaneously, other
institutions, such as schools, the church, the military,
embodying permanency and stability, are undergoing drastic
reassessment. In a broad sense, a transition from one way of
life to another has been taking place.
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