This sentence from my husband's history textbook jumped out at me this morning:
"In the twenty years after 1917, all aspects of Soviet society came under the purview of the [Communist] party. The atomization of society, a prime characteristic of totalitarian government, did not permit such secret and trustful groups as the family to exist at ease. . . By and large the government worked to weaken the importance of the family. Initially after the revolution, divorces required no court proceedings, abortions were legalized, women were encouraged to take jobs outside the home, and communist nurseries were set up to care for children while their mothers worked. (Civilization Past & Present, pg 830).
Relaxed divorce laws, easy access to abortions, encouragement of mothers to work outside the home and state-sponsored child care- doesn't this sound strikingly similar to modern life in America? What the Soviet government tried to implement by force, we Americans freely adopt by "choice."
When a female Chinese legal scholar spoke at my family law seminar at law school, all the women in my class were in moral indignation over the forced "one-child policy." "How can you force abortions on mothers?" they asked. "But it is much better for women" the stunned scholar answered. "After all, I have a son and I have a serious law career. This wouldn't be possible if I had many children."
The irony is guess how many of my fellow female law students actually had ANY children at our five year reunion? The surprising answer? Two.
Communism fell in Russia, and the Orthodox & Catholic churches are now flourishing. Yet who will save Americans from the choices we make ourselves?
