Bratislava, Slovakia—UPF celebrated International Day of Families with a lecture titled “The Relationship between Family and Politics.”
The meeting on May 16, 2022, took place at the Peace Embassy in the city center of Bratislava, with about 25 participants.
The guest speaker was Dr. Roman Joch, a well-known advocate for traditional family values and an accomplished conservative writer. Currently he is the director of the Research Institute for Labour and Family.
Dr. Joch started by remarking that one might well ask: What is the state’s interest in the family? He answered: “Let us put this question differently: Why should the state actually recognize any marriage? Why should it be not only a private affair but also a public institution? If marriage were just about adult love and affection, it could be ignored by the state. But children grow up best in the union of a man and a woman. The securing stability of that union is the reason why governments have recognized marriage,” Dr. Joch explained.
In the course of his one-hour talk Roman Joch eloquently debunked several widespread myths about equality: “The roles and tasks of husband and wife are not the same, but both are equal in their relationship. As their father and mother are equal, so are the siblings. The traditional family is a school of equality, freedom and legitimate authority. As a result, the family prepares the soil for a democratic form of government.”
He warned that the success of social policy should not be measured by equality of incomes. Furthermore, the state should respect the freedom of families to find the way of life that suits them best, he said.
Children are not equal to their parents, but they are equal as siblings. “But siblings are not identical either. For example, older children have certain privileges that younger children do not have. On the other hand, older children have certain responsibilities toward younger children. And this is also good training for living in a democratic society that is also free. Equality does not mean sameness, but diversity—diversity in freedom.”
Dr. Joch argued that those libertarians and authoritarians who claim that freedom and authority are mutually incompatible are wrong. “Misconceived freedom and misconceived authority are incompatible, but true authority and true freedom are not only compatible, they even need each other!”
The audience was very taken by the explanations. There were numerous questions at the end, which Dr. Joch answered in detail. Afterward the guests were invited to refreshment and personal discussions.