Traditionalism and authoritarianism in politics and the family -- a "deleted scene" from today's lecture

I do tend to fall behind the lecture schedule in this class, so from time to time I will post something I had to cut from a lecture -- usually a digression or a comparison or an extra example -- just like the "Deleted Scenes" they include on DVDs. So here is something from the imaginary DVD of the "Patriarchy and Sovereignty in Early Modern Europe" lectures. Feel free to discuss or ask questions below.

1. Comparison with present debates over “family values.”

Some examples: Parents who believe that spanking or physically punishing children is the best form of discipline tend to believe they should have the authority to do it, with little interference from the government. Those same people tend to believe that the best way to manage society is severely punishing or executing wrongdoers rather than trying to rehabilitate them or preventing the social conditions that may help cause crime. More likely than not, one of their traditional values are that each family should also possess the means to use violence itself, meaning guns. Such families are quite likely to attend a church that emphasizes a literal reading of the Bible, including the many passages (largely outside the Gospels I might add) upholding the ideal of fathers as the patriarchs and unquestioned rulers of their families. At same time, they are likely to fervently support public figures like generals, and certain presidents, that embody that sort of stern patriarchal authority.

a) "Promise Keepers" example

I found a remarkable example of the conjunction between family patriarchalism and political authoritarianism in a few minutes on the Internet last night (01/18/06). It concerns a group a Christian men’s group called the “Promise Keepers,” which like many evangelical Christian groups, counsels (among other things) that men’s declining authority is the major threat to families in modern America. Families need “stronger fathers” who can “lead” their wives and children. Admittedly these quotations are from an anti-Promise Keepers site, but the quotations seem to be authentic. ["Servant leadership" is the PK phrase.] Here we have a PK leader and speaker advising men on how to put their families back together: ". . . sit down with your wife and say something like this, "Honey, I've made a terrible mistake. . . I gave up leading this family, and I forced you to take my place. Now I must reclaim that role.". . . I'm not suggesting you ask for your role back, I'm urging you to take it back . . . there can be no compromise here. If you're going to lead, you must lead

Or even more appropriately for our subject: “Don't you understand, mister, you are royalty and God has chosen you to be priest of your home?”