Editorials: Guest Opinion -- Nobel family life lessons from the
Chumash
Andy Caldwell
September 15, 2013 12:26 AM
Do you remember the movie "Fiddler on the Roof" and the song "Tradition"?
The song reflected the theme of the movie having to do with the transition of
a traditional family to a more modern one. This movie has become very
meaningful to me and it serves my understanding by which I assess the
desire of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to increase the size of
their reservation.
Many years ago, I became aware of a 900-page tome written in the 1940s by
Harvard sociologist Carle Zimmerman. The book "Family and Civilization" has
been revised, is still available today, and I had a role in its modern-day
release.
Mr. Zimmerman studied the structure of family and its role in the
advancement and decline of civilization. The book was very comprehensive,
informative and downright prophetic. Mr. Zimmerman details that throughout
history, going back thousands of years, that there are three basic types of
family structures and these structures define the rise and fall of civilization. I
will use modern terms to describe the family types he identified. The three
family types are the extended, the nuclear, and the narcissistic.
We still have instances where an extended family structure, also known as a
tribal type arrangement, exists in the world today. Both the individual and
the nuclear unit are part of a larger social, cultural and economic dynamic.
The tribe promotes unity and community around shared familial bonds and a
shared economy.
Over time, many of these extended family civilizations evolved to the point
whereby the nuclear family unit established its independence from the tribe.
The focus no longer was on what benefited the extended family, but what
benefited the nuclear couple and their immediate offspring. This family unit is
the most powerful, successful and dynamic of the three family type
structures leading to the success of the civilization as a whole.
Unfortunately, over time, the nuclear families cease to evolve and instead
begin to disintegrate. Mr. Zimmerman saw the seeds of this disintegration in
the U.S. when he was writing his book, but of course the book is also an
historical analysis that chronicles this pattern of disintegration of past
civilizations. In essence, the disintegration of the nuclear family follows a
pattern whereby the health, well-being, and primacy of the nuclear family
ceases to be valued as vitally important in deference to the narcissistic
impulses of the individual. Hence, a life-long commitment to marriage in
order to raise a family in a stable home gives way to the emerging dynamic
we witness in our society today. Among the indicators are divorce,
childlessness, single parents, and casual sex hookups that satisfy narcissistic
tendencies but do nothing to further the goals and satisfy the needs of the
larger society.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians want to preserve their tribe, their
tradition and their civilization. They know the best way to do that is to create
the space that will allow successive generations and nuclear families to live
together in one community. The current reservation is primarily and
geographically a ravine that does not afford them the space to accommodate
the many families that aspire to preserve their heritage.
I understand the value of what they are trying to achieve and accomplish.
They are in the middle of a transition and are trying to hold on to their
traditions as best they can. Unfortunately, there are many people in our
society who can't relate. Their extended family unit dissolved and moved
away a long time ago. They have nothing left to protect and preserve except
their immediate interests and needs.
Andy Caldwell is the executive director of COLAB and host of the Andy Caldwell Radio Show,
weekdays from 3-5 p.m., on News-Press Radio AM 1290.