Some Issues Are Never Named

More than half of US citizens cannot name all four of their grandparents. Mundabor has some thoughts as to why. Personally, I can name all four, and seven of my eight great grandparents. And the reason I can only name seven of my eight great grandparents is exactly what Mundabor is talking about. My grandmother was born out of wedlock in 1876.

From Mundabor's Blog

We are informed that more than half of US citizens cannot name all four of their grandparents. As so often, I think there is more to this than meets the eyes.

Certainly, in part, this is due to the fact that as the age at which parents give birth to children has become older than, say, 50 years ago, there will be more people who were born after the death of one of their grandparents. Similarly, the mass phenomenon of people dying before 60 because of their love for the donut has certainly contributed to the figures. Still, in past generations people died in war, or in car or work accidents etc, in much greater numbers than today, so I think there is more to it.

I think the greater factor here is single motherhood.

How many people were born in, say, 2001, 2011 and 2021, from a single mother? I bet my pint, these are growing percentage numbers. I also think this has, particularly among those of the ethnicity whose lives apparently count more than mine, already reached the second generation. Most boys and girls born either to a single mother, or with one of the parents (or both!) born of a single mother, are unlikely to know the name of all their grandparents and, if they do, some of the male ones are likely to be invented, or uncertain, or merely supposed.

In a nation with more and more bastards (who are, themselves, innocent of blame, but their parents aren’t), there will be less and less family ties and, of course, family lore.

The article I have read (I can’t be bothered posting the link, frankly, but google at your heart’s content if you are happy that way) does, emphatically, not mention the issue. In fact, it seems to me that some issues can never be named, lest a newspaper is called conservative and, as a result, all sorts of insults like homophobic, transphobic, fat phobic, and an awful lot of words ending with “phobic”.

But seriously: the deterioration of the family leads to such a disconnect, that the majority can’t name all four grandparents.

This is what happens when rules of “tolerance” and “feeling good“ (you can’t say “bastard”, Mundabor! It’s a blasphemy against the god of niceness!) are ditched.

Being a bastard is not bad anymore, because there is no stigma attached to anyone. Hence, more single mothers and more bastards. Hence, more people who don’t know, I don’t say the name of their grandparents, but that of one of their parents.

When a people starts walking away from God, it always ends in a ditch.