Traditional family values: What is behind this concept?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Speaking about traditional family values, one should also reveal the basic concepts that, in our opinion, are inextricably linked with the process of raising a person in a family: hard work, honesty, courage, loyalty, goodness, truth, conscience, measure, love, faith.

Family and family values in all countries of the world have always formed the basis of any society. Regardless of cultural characteristics, children were born, brought up and grew up in families, gradually adopting the experience and traditions of the older generation, becoming full-fledged representatives of their people. As the primary institution for the upbringing and development of a person, the family transfers to the growing child not only knowledge, but also shapes his worldview and outlook in such a way that every person, having become an adult, feels responsibility not only for himself, but also for the lives of the people around him. It is in the family that we learn to take care of our neighbors, trust, love, correctly express our feelings and emotions, be fair and honest, live in a team and put the interests of society above the interests of an individual. Of course, someone will say that not all families are ideal, someone will even bring a sad experience from their lives. But one must understand that the family as an institution as a whole contributes to the development of just such qualities in a person, and therefore in society. Both parents and grandparents, wishing well to their children and grandchildren, realize that only by raising noble and decent people, they will ensure a quiet old age. And this is normal: adults take care of children, and grown-up children begin to take responsibility for already elderly parents and grandparents.

But what seemed to be the obvious truth before, today many are trying to question it

In most Western countries, same-sex marriage has already been legalized, a juvenile system has been introduced, the connection between generations has been artificially severed, the rights of the family have been replaced by the rights of the individual and the individual. The results of these transformations are already obvious: the civilization of the West is degrading morally and ethically and is degenerating, despite the influx of migrants tempted by a high level of material security. Considering that the process of globalization is objective, it would be naive to believe that Russia can stay away from these processes. Everyone knows the moral of the proverb "my house is on the edge, I don't know anything." Through various non-governmental organizations, through the media and popular culture, they are already trying to introduce into our society all the same initiatives that were successfully implemented in the West. The problems of technocratic civilization require from us a new understanding of reality. Human alienation, constant tension in relations with the artificially created external world, worldview cataclysms must be overcome. In search of an answer to these vital questions, we gaze intently not only at the foreseeable present, but also at the distant past of mankind. And here, in history, turning to traditional culture allows us to see examples of such an attitude towards life and towards the person himself, the basic principles of which can help us develop a new type of modern relationship both within society and with ourselves.

Now the family is being attacked on all fronts

Increasingly, on Russian television, one can hear statements that a family is not necessarily a union of a man and a woman, but can be a union of a man with a man or a woman with a woman. In films and TV shows, homosexuals and lesbians regularly appear among the main goodies, and the image of the traditional family is ridiculed and discredited, replaced by selfish ideals of life "for pleasure." The positive image of the mother and father disappears from the screens, which means, in many respects, from mass culture. In the regulatory documents adopted at the government level, the concept of "family" is vaguely defined. We regard such actions as a targeted attack with the use of soft power technologies on the Russian people. For this reason, in its activities, the Teach Good Project acts from the standpoint of traditional family values, considering the concept of “family” exclusively as a union of a man and a woman, implying the birth and upbringing of children. It is such a family that is the key to a stable and harmoniously developing society, and it is to such a family that many folk proverbs and sayings are dedicated, which preserve the wisdom and experience of our ancestors, passing it on from generation to generation:

• Goodness does not flow around the world, but lives as a family.
• Every layman is a family man to his brother.
• The whole family is together, and the soul is in place.
• What is the treasure, if the family is okay.
• The family is in a heap, and the cloud is not scary.
• A family is strong when there is one roof over it.
• The porridge is thicker in the family.
• In a friendly family and in the cold it is warm.
• A family without children is like an odorless flower.
• He fell in love with wine - he ruined the family.

Speaking about traditional family values, one should also reveal the basic concepts that, in our opinion, are inextricably linked with the process of raising a person in a family:

• Hard work
• Honesty
• Courage
• Loyalty
• Good
• Truth
• Conscience
• Measure
• Love
• faith

1. Diligence

The very word "diligence", that is, love of work, already carries in itself the correct attitude, which each person must form in himself and support in relation to the business he is engaged in. Diligence implies that work is not only a tool for satisfying a person's material needs, but also a deep inner need of a person, embedded in his very nature and leading him to spiritual development. Labor, no matter how it may be - managerial or productive - ennobles a person, develops his talents and abilities, raises to qualitatively new levels not only materially, but also spiritually. His power is great and life-giving. In this respect, work is different from work. As noted by the outstanding Russian scientist D. I. Mendeleev, “not every work is labor … Labor is conditioned by the usefulness of what is done not for oneself, but for others … Work can be given, forced to work, labor - it was and will be free, because by its nature it is conscious, free, spiritual, difficult and necessary …”Therefore, the love of work, understanding of its high importance is very important for a person to live a healthy, dignified life. The same is true on a larger scale - a society in which labor is valued, lives well, is in constant development, material and spiritual.

In the old days, which were not distinguished by special comfort and consumer abundance, the need for labor was more obvious than it is now. Our ancestors spent most of their lives in work, for this reason, such an impressive number of sayings and proverbs on this topic that have come down to our times was formed. This group of Russian proverbs and sayings is one of the most notable. Such expressions are widely known as:

• Skill (patience) and work will grind everything
• Under the lying stone and water does not flow
• Do you like to ride - love to carry sledges
• Finished business - walk boldly
• You can't easily catch a fish from a pond
• Business time, fun hour
• The eyes are afraid, but the hands are doing
• Small business is better than big idleness
• The master's case is afraid

Today, the attitude to work and hard work from the point of view of the accepted mass philosophy has noticeably changed for the worse. If before the need to work responsibly was nowhere more obvious:

• If you don't heat it, you won't get warm
• Whoever is not lazy to plow will have bread
• What you sow, so you reap, so you will be fed
• etc,

then the current reality also offers various kinds of parasitic types of existence. At the same time, the harmful tendency is reinforced by the parallel widespread dissemination of the idea of idleness through modern mass culture. The well-known popular series about schoolchildren, students and doctors are happy to amuse the viewer with love twists and turns, funny situations, conflicts of heroes, anything, but not an image of a working person, although in an amicable way, he should be in the foreground: a student, a student, a doctor Is, first of all, a worker. In modern folk philosophy, diligence as one of the highest life values has obviously faded and is not cultivated not only with its former fundamentality and scope, but in any way in general. Today, work is not promoted by the media and culture as an important part of human life, unfairly left behind the scenes as some kind of unpleasant moment on the path to success, which must be resigned to. However, the truth is still what it was: work and the recognition of its value in the form of industriousness are prerequisites for the successful development of material and spiritual life and the happiness of an individual, an individual family and society as a whole.

2. Honesty

In the perception of many people, the concept of honesty is reduced to the need to always tell the truth. Meanwhile, V. I. Dal gave a broader definition: "Honesty is straightforwardness, truthfulness, steadfastness in one's conscience and duty, denial of deception and theft, reliability in fulfilling promises." An honest person is one who does not cheat, and in whose actions there are no selfish motives. In a family in which parents are used to being honest with their children, harmony and understanding reigns. After all, if there are no lies, then there are no serious reasons for conflicts or quarrels. At the same time, honesty towards others begins with honesty in dialogue with oneself. Learning to be honest with yourself is the foundation for spiritual development. And, of course, only an honest person living in harmony with his conscience can be truly happy.

• Honesty is not in power, but in truth
• Not the one who is strong, but the one who is honest
• Honest hello to the heart for joy
• Better poverty and honesty than profit and shame
• A good horse is not without a rider, but an honest man is not without a friend
• An honest deed and humbles a riot
• Honest case is not lurking
• The service that is needed is more honest
• The word of honor must be constant

3. Courage

As practice shows, in order to take the first step and start moving, it is often not enough to have a correctly chosen goal and even an understanding of how to realize it. It takes courage. It helps to overcome fear, take responsibility and move on the intended path. Courage is one of the most important volitional qualities inherent in a person. Building courage must begin in childhood. By encouraging children to act independently, to take responsibility, by providing reasonable freedom of action, we help them learn to control their emotions, develop determination and the ability to make correct decisions, regardless of the presence of fears. Courage is at the core of concepts such as courage, masculinity, courage and valor. Courage leads to the willingness to defend the interests of their loved ones, their business and their homeland. In Russian culture, there are many proverbs and sayings demonstrating that only a brave person is able to overcome any obstacles in his life path:

• Stand boldly for a just cause!
• Courage (Courage) of the city takes
• The bold God owns, the drunken devil shakes
• The dog barks at the brave, and vomits the cowardly
• A hero dies once, but a coward all his life
• Courage is the strength of a warrior
• The brave on the day of the battle is known
• To be afraid of a wolf, so do not go to the forest
• The bold peas sip, but the timid and cabbage soup will not see
• For the brave victory

4. Loyalty

When we talk about family, fidelity is the antipode of debauchery and the eternal companion of true love. Today they often try to convince us from TV screens that loyalty is a feat that, although it commands respect, deprives you of "novelty" and "joys in life." In fact, fidelity is the only norm in family relationships that allows you to create a strong and happy family based on trust and willingness to be with each other in sorrow and in joy. And what is usually replaced by euphemisms "thirst for novelty" or "joy of life" is most often a path of destruction and degradation, a path down the slope. Faithfulness strengthens the strength of the spirit, helps to resist all temptations and temptations, serves as a guarantee of trust, provides support in life and love. This is one of the best qualities that characterize a man-warrior and a woman-keeper of the hearth. At the same time, loyalty is a very multifaceted concept, revealed in such expressions as “loyalty to the word”, “loyalty to duty”, “loyalty to oneself”, “loyalty to tradition” and, of course, “loyalty to the Motherland”. The soldiers who defended our country during the Great Patriotic War showed real loyalty to the Fatherland. The soldiers sacrificed themselves, went to certain death, withstood any trials, but did not betray. Today, the war is more and more informational, but this war will be won only by those who remain loyal to their country, their people and those human ideals that make us human.

• Faithful love neither burns in fire, nor drowns in water
• A faithful friend is better than a hundred servants
• Weapons will protect, but loyalty is the best defense
• To be faithful is a virtue, to be faithful is an honor
• A noble heart cannot be wrong
• A traitor in any storm saves only his own skin
• The traitor is more dangerous than the enemy
• Faithfulness is known during great troubles

5. Kindness

The ability to distinguish good from evil, good from bad, and a conscious desire to be good are at the heart of human morality. A good deed is one that makes the world a better place, helps society to embark on the path of crisis-free and harmonious development. An evil deed is one that is directed in the opposite direction and makes the world worse, leads it to destruction. And this means that a person should measure each of his actions with the effect it has on others and such entails consequences.

From this point of view, it is wrong to argue that there is no good without evil, or that evil has always been, and there is nothing you can do about it. Although evil exists in our world, nevertheless, it is the duty of every person to direct their thoughts and actions towards good, that is, to be good.

• Life is given for good deeds
• Good God helps
• Whoever loves good deeds, life is dear to him
• Hold on to the good, but succeed from the bad
• A kind word to man - that rain in a drought
• Doing evil, do not rely on good
• You wish good, good and do
• Kindness without reason is empty
• It is a good deed to speak the truth boldly
• Good will not die, but evil will disappear

6. True

“But I think that the power is in the truth. Whoever has the truth is stronger … Brother-2

Truth is the primary philosophical category. It is also an evaluative characteristic of any information coming to us, the essence of this evaluation is the correspondence of this information to an image, phenomenon or process taking place in the universe at a given time. According to Dahl's dictionary, truth is truth in deed, truth in image, in good; justice, fairness. In Russian culture, there are just a huge number of proverbs and sayings on the topic of truth, here are just a small part:

• Truth is more precious than gold
• The truth hurts my eyes
• The truth is walking around the world
• Truth from water, from fire saves
• Wrong acquired for future use will not go
• Better to die than endure the lie
• In whom there is no truth, in that there is little good
• Truth is a piece earned, and a lie is stolen
• Everyone praises the truth, but not everyone tells it
• You will bury the truth, but you will not get out of the pit yourself
• It is a good deed to speak the truth boldly
• Truth is heavier than gold, but floats on the water
• True, like a wasp, it creeps into the eyes
• Do not rush to flattering speeches, do not be angry at the rude truth
• True twenty chains will break
• Whoever fights for the truth is given double strength

One of the main themes of our proverbs and sayings is the theme of the inevitability of the truth, that sooner or later the truth will become known. The inevitability of revealing the truth makes any lie or falsehood meaningless. And even more so, the truth is the best foundation for building family life, only honest trusting relationships will make family ties as strong as steel, which will not be afraid of any difficulties.

7. Conscience

Conscience is one of the most important concepts underlying the spiritual side of a person's life. Conscience is called the inner compass of a person, showing him the direction in which he should go. From the standpoint of a believing person, Conscience is also understood as an intimate connection between a person and God. According to Dahl's explanatory dictionary, conscience is a moral consciousness, moral instinct or feeling in a person; inner consciousness of good and evil; the secret place of the soul, in which the approval or condemnation of every deed is echoed; the ability to recognize the quality of an act; a feeling that encourages truth and good, averting lies and evil; involuntary love for good and truth; innate truth, in varying degrees of development. There are many sayings in Russian culture on the topic of conscience and conscience:

• Whoever's conscience is not clear, the shade of the poker is also the gallows
• Whoever has a clear conscience does not have a pillow under his head
• The face is crooked, but the conscience is straight
• You can't sew conscience to a caftan (to skin)
• The rich will not buy conscience, but ruin his own
• Do it according to your conscience, honestly
• A timid conscience, you can't drown it out for a generation
• No matter how wise you are, you can't be too smart about your conscience
• You cannot hide from a person, you cannot hide from your conscience (from God)

From the above sayings, it is clear that conscience is that inner state that cannot be bought for money, cannot be changed by some external manifestations and factors: a beautiful appearance (straight face), a new caftan. And it’s all the more useless to fight this “voice of good” within oneself - this makes it even louder. The only thing that can be done with regard to conscience is to keep it clean, that is, to follow its call, which means to do the right thing (in truth, according to conscience).

8. Measure

It is not for nothing that Russian civilization is sometimes called the civilization of measure. Unlike the West, which is always chasing after material values, and the East, which on the path of spiritual improvement is sometimes ready to forget about today's life, everything is always good with us only in moderation. Throughout its rich history, Russia / Russia was often taken to extremes, more than once we found ourselves on the brink of destruction, but a sense of proportion always helped to correct mistakes in time and restore the lost balance, and not only on our own land, but also to help our neighbors. Perhaps this is our mission …

• Measure paints every business
• You can't weave without measure and bast shoes
• Above measures and the horse does not gallop
• The soul knows the measure
• By the measure of a master to know
• Do not measure by your yardstick
• Know yourself in all measure
• The account will not lie, and the measure will not deceive
• When rye, then measure
• Measure is faith in every work

9. Love

Television today is trying to form in viewers a misconception about Love as an outburst of passions, feelings and emotions that can turn a person into a “slave of love”, raise him to the height of bliss or plunge him into a state of depression. But Love in the true sense of this word cannot be "evil", "venal", "crazy" or "one-sided". All of the above are just stereotypes that describe attachments based on sexual instincts to a greater extent than feelings of Love.

In the Russian tradition, Love is a much broader and more comprehensive concept than just the sphere of relations between a man and a woman: it is Love for one's neighbor, and Love for the world, and Love, as manifestations of the warmth of the soul and heart, as an aggregate of perfection.

• Life without love, what a year without spring
• He who loves lives twice
• You can't buy love with gold
• Love is not measured by the versts
• Death will not frighten love
• Where there is love and advice, there is no grief
• Love lives well both in a rural hut and in a master's chamber
• The beloved must be seen not with the eyes, but with the heart
• Where is love, here is God
• Whom people love, that also God favors

10. Faith

Faith is one of the most subtle, subtle and at the same time very important concepts in human life. According to Dahl's dictionary, faith means "confidence, conviction, firm consciousness, the concept of something, especially about higher, immaterial, spiritual things." Each person, whether he is aware of this or not, is guided in his actions by some of his own belief system, which has developed throughout his life and is always open to further confirmation or, conversely, to changes. What a person believes in determines his steps over and over again, determines his whole life as a whole.

• Change your faith - change your conscience
• As faith is, so is God
• A holy place is never empty (if you don't believe in one thing, then you believe in something else)

Faith is characterized by the closest connection with the creative principle, with action. First, at the stage of the cause, a person believes in something, is convinced of something, and then, as a consequence, he acts or does not act. And it is very logical that a noticeable part of Russian proverbs and sayings concerning the topic of faith clearly notes this connection between the concepts of faith and deed:

• Faith is good in the case
• Apply Faith to Deed, and Deed to Faith
• Faith will move the mountain from its place
• With faith you won't be lost anywhere
• Without good works - faith is dead before God
• God cannot be fooled, although you will get up earlier than ours

If a person, for example, believes that he is not needed somewhere (in a family, team, country), then it will be so, because he will inevitably support his faith with further real actions. If he believes that life is meaningless, then it will be so for him - he will realize it for himself, proceeding from his faith. The same is true in the opposite case - belief in a special meaning of one's life or belief in the high significance of oneself as a citizen of the state will be necessarily implemented. As Leo Tolstoy said, "the essence of all faith is that it gives life a meaning that is not destroyed by death." Therefore, it is the duty of every person to find strength in himself and find time to think about what he believes in and for what he lives.

To summarize what was said:

It remains to add that values for each person, their special set and combination, are the foundation for building a general picture of the world, personal growth, choosing one's goals and meanings, and determine the development of a deeply individual "code" of life rules. It is the values that underlie the moral profile of each of us and throughout our life they sometimes act as almost unconscious, but powerful guidelines for any life choices and decisions. In today's day, there is a total loss of understandable moral guidelines. This process, which is clearly controlled in nature, entails not only some social decline, but also deep disorientation of many people in matters of the personal meaning of life, understanding of oneself and others. An appeal to understanding the experience of generations in building a value worldview and a firm position in understanding what is the norm can serve as starting points on the way to gaining a sense of fulfillment and meaningfulness of life for every person. And this, in turn, will bear fruit both for the development of society as a whole, and for the appearance of a sense of satisfaction with life in any of us.