Moderation Is a Good Thing

There is a family down in Arkansas that is famous for one thing and one thing only. Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar—and, yes, his name really is Jim Bob—are famous for having children, lots of them. At ages 42 and 44, Michelle and Jim Bob already have a total of 18 children. As I was getting ready for work on Tuesday, I was watching the Today Show and Meredith Viera dropped a teaser before the commercial break that the Duggar family had a "big" announcement. Well, when the Duggar family has any kind of announcement, it can be only one thing, that another baby is on the way. And, as expected, the Michelle Duggar announced that she is pregnant once again and their 19th child is on the way. This pregnancy comes only 8 months after she gave birth to her last child.

The general population greeted this news with shock and awe. Most people in the world think that this family is insane and crazy. People wonder how any family can afford to raise so many kids. I question how it's possible for any of these children to get any kind of individual attention and love. You wonder what kind of life the older children have, because they are probably responsible for taking care of their younger siblings. And we could also mention that this family is probably single-handedly depleting half of the world's resources. Or maybe I should say multi-handedly.

Anyway, this is a huge family, and most people, quite rightfully, think that they are crazy. However, the news of the big announcement was greeted with great excitement and many bright smiles from the media. Everyone is absolutely giddy about a new baby being added to the brood. One question, however, keeps popping into my mind whenever this family has another baby. Would they be treated the same way, would they have the same "celebrity" status, if they were anything but white and Christian? Somehow I doubt it. I have a hard time believing that the media and good Christians around the world would be as welcoming and excited if this family were African American or Latino. If they were African American they would probably be called ghetto trash or there would be hour-long documentaries about the irresponsibility of black men. If they were Latino they would probably be criticized for overpopulating the good old USA with illegal minorities. Yet, because they are Christian and white, this is a beautiful, wonderful thing meant to be celebrated. Yes, double standards do still exist.