Politics and Family Values: Do They Mix? - Reading Comprehension
for edHelper.com subscribers - Sign up now by clicking here!

Politics and Family Values: Do They Mix? Reading Comprehension
     Politics and Family Values: Do They Mix? reading comprehension (sample is shown below)


Politics and Family Values: Do They Mix?
By Shannon Jackson 		  
1     Family values can be defined as values which are held to promote the sound functioning of the family and to strengthen the fabric of society. This seems like an easy issue, until one considers the following: what exactly constitutes "family"? Is family a self-contained unit? Does it include gays and lesbians, whether or not they become parents? Does it include single-parent homes? How does what we consider as family affect our public life and our relationships in the community? People who have opinions on this topic have definite, strong opinions. Even the dictionary definition leaves room for argument. Merriam-Webster defines "family" as "a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head: household." We are still left with an unclear picture of what exactly (who exactly) qualifies as "family."
 
2     Back to our definition of family values-the second half states that these values are held to strengthen the fabric of society. This implies morals, which leads to another question: Is morality something that the government has any control over? Well, we need to take a look at what is morality. Renowned author C.S. Lewis gives a three part definition. He says morality relates to our personal behavior in these three ways: (1) to ensure fair play and harmony between individuals; (2) to help make us good people in order to have a good society; and (3) to keep us in a good relationship with the power that created us.
 
3     Often people will agree with Lewis on the first point. Our society, as a whole, seems to promote fair play and harmony. We have sporting events which emphasize being good sports. No one likes a sore loser. Our election process is also an example where one opponent will win over another and afterwards life goes on. Battles don't break out because someone loses an election.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!

The 1890's
             The 1890's

More Lessons
             Election 2004: United States Elections
             Election 2008: United States Elections
             High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons

United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 

United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861) 		 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830) 		 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870) 		 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991) 		 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806) 		 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865) 		 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945) 		 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900) 		 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918) 		 
 
    World War II  
 

50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit

Document Based Activities
      Document Based Activities



Copyright © 2018 edHelper