A television commercial for a pest control company shows two happy families, one on the right half of the split screen and the other on the left. On each side, the camera shows the family sitting on a comfortable sofa. It also shows the flooring and the foundations of the house under them. The voice described the family on the left, whose house had a solid, strong foundation. No problems there.

Then the announcer turns to the family on the right. He lowers his voice a bit and speaks with urgency as he explains that termites are busily munching away on the foundation of the house of this cheerful, unsuspecting family. Little did they know that a disaster is about to happen! (1)

You and I have been reminded time and again within recent years that the American family is under siege. A serie…