In the November election it is of vital importance to recognize that the family has always been the basic building block of society from time immemorial.The commitment of a man and a woman to raise children and instill in them the following values they will need to succeed in life is essential from generation to generation:

• Strong work ethic,
• Each member pulling his or her share,
• Taking responsibility for one’s personal choices and decisions,
• Dependence on self, not others, in going as far as one’s God-given talents will allow,
• Importance of getting a good education,
• Moral and religious values,
• Respect for others,
• Respect for life,
• Living within your means,
• Charity to the needy.

The traditional family unit is now, however, seriously threatened in the United States as evidenced by 40 percent of all babies born out of wedlock, in no small part as the result of anything-goes lifestyles portrayed by television, Hollywood and magazines. As a result, three-quarters of U.S. annual welfare spending goes to single parents.

Children without fathers are likely to be poor, in the bottom of their school classes and suffer emotional and behavioral problems. This situation creates poverty from generation to generation and ever more dependency on government.

As a traditional family with six children and 13 grandchildren, my wife and I have the following concerns in this regard:

• Trillion dollars plus deficits run up each year by this administration, resulting in a mountain of debt to be passed on to our children and grandchildren despite Obama’s pledge to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term;

• Unemployment rates higher than 8 percent in every year now affecting some 23 million Americans;

• Having to subsidize the 50 percent who pay no income taxes,

• Dependency on the government for a living versus taking personal responsibility;

• That fathers siring children out of wedlock are not held responsible to support them;

• The “war on religion,” whereby this administration seeks to take the mention of God out of our motto, our coinage, our oaths of office, our Pledge of Allegiance as well as outlawing our National Day of Prayer and forcing religions to go against their beliefs;

• Lack of respect for life by this administration’s funding of abortion with our tax dollars;

• Administration efforts to take up to 55 percent of what hard-working American parents managed to put aside from their savings to leave to their children;

• Administration efforts to heavily tax the rewards of successful small and large businesses, which create millions of jobs;

• Administration refusal to enforce U.S. immigration law and then by executive order granting amnesty to those who entered the United States illegally just to get their votes.

The bottom line is that if the government would be run as a traditional family, it would not be in the terrible shape it is in today.

These traditional family concerns will not be addressed, however, because this administration has pursued a policy of ever bigger government with ever more intrusive control over our private lives and businesses. In so doing, it has ignored this nation’s heritage as a nation under God founded by families seeking to avoid religious persecution and be given the opportunity, not the guarantee, to enjoy the fruits of their labors without having to depend on others and with a minimum of governmental control.

Today 79.5 percent of the U.S. population in the latest 2010 Census is reported to be Christian. This means that millions of eligible voters from traditional families will have the opportunity to reshape the future of this country for generations in November by voting for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. The Republican candidates will lead this country versus continuing down the road pursued by the present administration to spiritual and economic bankruptcy.                                                   

Fred Laurenzo lives in Little Egg Harbor.