"Paternity"

I guess Larry Birkhead is happy. This past Tuesday the daughter of Anna Nicole Smith, was determined to be his child. He and several others had claimed paternity in this case. It is interesting, that after James Brown died in late December of last year, many people came forward claiming to be his children.

Now, does it not bother us to see such irresponsible behavior treated so lightly? You might say, "Well they are trying to determine the paternity." Do you know why they are trying to determine paternity? Because, both Anna Nicole Smith and James Brown left behind large estates. Even when Anna Nicole was alive, Birkhead was claiming paternity, presumably, because of money.

But my point really is that baby-making belongs in marriage. We seem to have done a better job of relaying the message that single parenthood is not responsible behavior in the teen years. (I believe statistics show that there has been a decline in teen pregnancies.) Of course, adults are not being so responsible, births to single mothers in their 20's and above are on the rise. Society is saying, "Don't have a child when you are under 20 and have no money, but when you get to be an 'adult' you can do it whether you can support that child or not."

The problem is that society refuses to place the moral demand of responsibility upon people. It used to be that family units were similar in their demands of children. Most children would be raised to respect marriage and the responsibility associated with raising children. Now, celebrities publicly flaunt their sexuality and irresponsibility. The result has been a "trickle-down" effect--"If they can live irresponsibly, why can't I?"

Every person must ask themselves, "To whom am I responsible?" The answer should be "God, and my fellow citizens." Only when individuals make the personal choice to conduct themselves responsibly before God and society will we begin to stem the tide of indecent conduct that is hurting us all.

I truly feel sorry for the little girl, Dannielynn. She may grow up with truckloads of money, but the heritage left her biological parents is not very pretty.