| A Dismal Future Since the dawn of man the process of natural selection has shaped and molded the future of mankind, and our society today is no different. It may be hard to understand how the problems of today can be related to genetics and natural selection, but every divorce, violent act, and teenage pregnancy is all a result of the evolution of the species. With this in mind, a person can look down the road leading to our future and take a guess as to where it may be heading. When you mention the break down of our society, one of the first things people think about is our ever-increasing divorce rate. According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, “ One out of every two marriages today ends in divorce and many divorcing families include children” (“Children and Divorce”). In looking for an answer for this increasing problem of divorce, author Nigel Barber points out in his article “On the Relationship Between Country Sex Ratios and Teen Pregnancy Rates: A Replication”: The hypothesis that a low ratio of men to women, both destabilizes marriages and makes it more likely that young women will reproduce early outside of marriage was supported by an analysis of 42 societies for which the United Nations published detailed information on population, structure and teen childbearing. (26) This theory is very evident in regards to African American women,“ A majority of African American women today are reproducing outside marriage” says Barber, and this could be from “ both low sex ratio and also by the inability of many African American men to invest in children due to poverty, high unemployment rates, and high rates of criminal incarceration” (27). The trend across the country also follows the hypothesis in that the poor uneducated women have fewer opportunities to find desirable spouses so they are reproducing at younger ages and not getting married. The single mother is then economically challenged even more and this is passed on to their children who continue the cycle. On the other end of the spectrum, the more economically stable women are choosing education first over marriage, and are very selective of their spouses, and this leads to these women having fewer children later in life. This rapid reproduction of minorities from the lower economic class has also fueled an increase in multiracial children. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry reports that “ About two million American children have parents of different races” and that “ In the United States marriages between blacks and whites increased 400 percent in the last 30 years, with a 1000 percent increase in marriages between whites and Asians” (“Multiracial Children”). While this blending of races is not necessarily a bad thing, it does have its complications. In this country racial equality has come a long way, but multiracial children face many challenges involving identity and this can lead to problems that further feed the on going evolution. Along with the increase in multiracial children, this evolutionary process has affected children in other ways as well. Society has created what we term latch key kids, “Every day thousands of children arrive home from school to an empty house, and it is estimated that 40% of children are left at home at some time” (“Home Alone Children”). Multiracial, economically challenged, and left alone to fend for themselves children feel a sense of alienation and many times become problem teens. A research paper by M. Sankey and G. F. Huon identified alienation as “An individuals sense of separation or estrangement from society, work, themselves or significant others”(95). Sankey’s and Huon’s research was to determine what part alienation played in juvenile delinquency. What they determined was that ultimately, the factors that increase feelings of alienation and lead to juvenile delinquency “ Derives from the quality of family life, and that poor parenting is related to misbehavior and psychological distress as well as the development of hostile and delinquent adolescent outcomes”(97). Alienation is not exclusive to the poor and underprivileged, however on a lighter note we can look at a symbol of the American middle class family, the La-Z-Boy recliner. In 1996, La-Z-Boy Company was the third-ranked manufacturer of furniture in the US, with $ 947 million in sales (Wilk 4). Richard Wilk of Indiana University stated, “ Until the 20th century, Americans never imagined that the reward for hard work was lying still and passive on a overstuffed chair for hours, surrounded by the nuclear family” (4). While middle class parents feel that they have worked hard and deserve this relaxation time, what becomes of the children and the quality time that they crave? Alienation comes in many disguises but it leads to the same results. After looking at the research it becomes apparent that the persons who are experiencing reproductive success are the lower class individuals who have tendencies towards aggression, rapid reproduction with little if no parental involvement, and a general lack of self worth. As each generation evolves the genes that support this behavior are passed on to the next generation and the next and so on until through natural selection society and culture are changed. Do we really have a choice or is our future all in our genes? It is a fact that we all possess neurotransmitters, better known as hormones, that influence how we react, respond and cope with life. Since the dawn of man, we have been guided by the evolution of the species as it adapts to our changing environment, and our children are doing the same thing. What we perceive as a break down of society is in essence the natural evolutionary response to the changing environment. |
