Newspaper Page Text
The
Jewish
Family
in
AMERICA
HOTEL Co
oat
ommerio
'Aiken’s Largest and Most Popular”
The Commercial Man’s Home
Aiken, S. C.
Geddings Cushman Jr., Pres., S.C.P.S.C. Class E Carrier
SPECIAL
The success of American Jews
in adapting themselves to the
needs and the freedoms of Amer
ica’s industrialized economy may
be producing one of the most mo
bile, isolated and stress - ridden
families in Jewish history.
This is the picture of the mod
ern Jewish family which emerges
from an analysis by Columbia Uni
versity sociologist Sidney Aron
son, who has summarized recent
research studies on the Jewish
family in the United States.
Dr. Aronson, in presenting his
findings to the Second General
Assembly of the Synagogue Coun
cil of America, declared that the
middle class white urban Protest
ant family has become a kind of
model for the Jewish family.
Most of the features of the “typ
ical” American family — contrary
to the views both of Protestants
and emulating Jews — are not
“natural” at all, if the comparison
is with the family patterns of
me old world from which came
most Americans or their ances
tor. in the history of the family
as a social institution, the Amer
ican version is quite unique.
xii the same way, Dr. Aronson
pointed out, the Jewish family of
tne old world and of the early
period of the ghetto, is both “nat
ural” and very different from the
American Jewish family of today.
What are some of the unique fea
tures of the modern American fam
ily which are true in large degree
both of the non-Jewish and Jewish
family alike?
One is the custom of “free mate
choice,” which historically is very
unusual, says Dr. Aronson. Much
more typical historically is the
“institution of arranged marriage.”
Dr. Aronson notes that arranged
marriage was the normal pattern
of the European shtetl and that
‘marriage for love was a privil
ege of poverty. To the Jew, as to
so many people in the world, love
wa' the result of marriage and not
a prerequisite of ; t.”
Another striking feature of the
American family is its composition
of husband, wife and dependent
children. In the old world, the
family meant all relations, typi
fied by the idea of the Jewish
“mishpocheh.” The joint household
of three generations living under
the same roof in the shtetl was
common. A three-generation fam
ily—Jewish or otherwise—is prac
tically non - existent in modern
American suburbia.
Equally unusual is the isolaticn
of this two - generation family.
Young married couples are not
only supposed to live alone but
they are also supposed to live on
their own. The right to be old
enough to get married and to move
away from “in-law interference”
carries with it the obligation on
the young newlyweds to build and
support their new household with
out outside help.
This modern American family is
not only isolated but, for the same
reasons, it is also unsupported.
Even in times of severe troubles,
the two young adults try to work
out their problems on their own.
No help is expected from the two
sets of in-laws, either in setting
up the new household or in work
ing out problems arising in the
marriage. A point not noted by
Dr. Aronson is that the demand
for in-laws as baby-sitters is high
and lucky feels the couple who
has at least one set of in-laws
who will serve as baby-sitters
without thereby “assuming” the
“right” to offer suggestions on
child-rearing.
Another historically unusual fea
ture of this family is that its
structure is symmetrical, that is,
neither patriarchal nor matriarch
al. Within the immediate family,
Dr. Aronson finds, this symmetry
“is indicated by a relationship of
equality between husband and
wife.” This is an equality, he also
notes, which can be more apparent
than real.
Another distinctive feature is
the decay in feelings of responsibi
lity to needy parents, whether the
need is for help in the form of
money, or in attention and love.
Thanks partly to social security
and pensions, married sons and
daughters are “let off the hook”
in providing support to aged par
ents. The aged in the United States
tend to become separated and iso
lated from their married child-
Aiken Petroleum Co., Inc.
Kerosene - Fuel Oils - Petroleum Carriers
AIKEN, S. C.
Farmers & Merchants Hank
Member Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
AIKEN, S. C.
Holley s Hardware Co.
Hardware • Electrical Appliances
Paints • Gifts
I*hone 9-3371 — Laurens Street
AIKEN, S. C.
GENERAL ELECTRIC APPLIANCES
CONTRACTING & REPAIRS
GEORGE ELECTRIC CO.
l'»06 PARK AVENUE AIKEN, S. C.
Phone 9-4541
2>. W. Qeor r 3unerJ JJome
Established 1920
P. O. Box 634 1801 Park Avenue
Business Phone 9-6234
AIKEN, S. C,
The Southern Israelite
21