011774 nyt The Family: Building a Better America

By Terry Tucker

SAN DIEGO - From early Puritan household to weatherworn pioneer family, from the black/Irish/Chinese immigrant household to the Apache/ sioux/Navajo family from early log cabin to modem suburbia, the strength of America has always been-and still is-the American family.

The face of any nation mirrors the family life of her people. If this reflection reveals alienation, we can look for a fragmented family life; if it shows vitality (concern for cleaner fir and cleaner politics, for purer water and purer business motives) we can look for an active and positive !family life.

The family is the cradle in which America. tomorrow rests. It is here That attitudes toward one's self and Others are shaped, here that definitions Of right and wrong are formulated, and here that the seeds of choice are planted: tolerance or bigotry, initiates or apathy, concern for the many or preoccupation with one's self.

A better America, then,will depend on the betterment of the American family. Where there is love at home, there w,lI be love of country; where there is trust at home, there will be trustworthiness in business; anywhere there is freedom to communicate honestly within the family, there will be the courage to communicate honestly in politics.

The home is a child's first country, and the family the first citizenry. A child who has a voice in family decisions and discussions will use his voting voice in national decisions and discussions. One who lives with discipline that is tempered with reason at home will grow into a citizen whose law-abiding is tempered with common sense; one who learns the importance of laughter and leisure in family life will carry the value of a sense of humor and the necessity of recreation into his future. And the

child who learns to care for a pet, to tend a garden, to respect his own and others' property will care about wildlife preservation, tend to environmental protection, and respect all property from a neighbor's private treasures to the nation's public treasures.

A nation of families who strive daily for balance in all things will itself be a balanced nation. The youngster who learns to play just as hard as he works grows into an adult with a balanced attitude toward work and rest: an ulcer-free, tension-free citizen healthy in mind. The child who practices moderation with food and drink becomes a citizen with a balanced perception of consuming: a nonalcoholic, no overweight citizen healthy in body. And the youth who learns the balance of give-and-take carries into adulthood tolerance and fairness: He is free of selfishness and guilt, a citizen healthy in spirit.

To make America better, then, let us turn to ourselves, for we the family are America's very roots. Let e individual family who is part of collective American family strive love, trust, and communication in home; for decision-consciousness, decipline, recreation and respect ami family members; and for the balance  of body, mind, and spirit that ma for personal wholeness and natural wholesomeness.

With Puritan devotion and pior determination, with immigrant fli bility and native stability, we must deed see ourselves as brothers

sisters. We may be diverse, but lei never be divided. We may be free, let us always be disciplined.above all, as the mothers and fathers of America tomorrow, let us devote ourselves and inspire our children ward the preservation and the evolution of that vibrant species, the American family.

Terry Tucker is a student at San Diego Mesa Junior college.