What do you think when you hear the phrase "traditional values"?

[kasperbbs]

In my country i only hear those words when people are talking against the legalisation of gay marriage or letting them adopt children.

 

[Thaluikhain]

it tends to have a negative connotation for me. after all traditional values meant the aborigines in my country (you know the people who were here first and who owned the land before the europeans) were not regarded as citizens until 1967

More complicated than that, they were citizens, just of Britain, rather than Australia.

Though, endless other examples of their mistreatment due to that sort of thinking, yes.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Social conservatives? thinly veiled justification for sex-negativity, misogyny and homophobia. In most occasions, when someone talks about ?traditional values? (or ?family values? or ?think of the children!?), it?s never anything to do with community or ?love thy neighbour? or any of the actually good parts of the Bible. It?s mostly used as an argument against abortion, gay marriage, premarital sex, sex education in schools, institutionalised sexism, and anything else that Christian or Islamic fundamentalists like to complain about. And they never explain why ?traditional values? are so important, other than ?it?s tradition, so it must be right?.

In a nutshell, it?s a disgusting, meaningless, thought-terminating cliché, and I hate it to death when politicians who should know better say it just to grab election votes from the scared and ignorant.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I think of the 1950s, with all the good AND all the bad. Being jobless made you a bum, it was something to be ashamed of, which to me is a good view to have. On the other hand, the only job a woman could have was homemaker. It's definitely give-and-take.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Being jobless made you a bum, it was something to be ashamed of, which to me is a good view to have.

I disagree, it depends on why they are jobless.

The GFC put a lot of people out of work through no fault of their own, for example. They shouldn't be ashamed that some bankers and politicians in the US gave economies around the world a good kicking.

 

[Grimh]

Along with "Family Values" it's a largely nebulous term mostly employed by people fearing change or pushing a personal agenda.