My examples stand uncorrected as proof of the 60's assault on tradition.
Yes, there was a 60's assault on tradition. And yes, it was pretty effective.
You are correct in
observing the frailties of marriage. However as we have see it is a far better institution with all of its flaws than
any alternative that has been offered.
What alternative? There haven't been any alternatives offered yet. Perhaps some dialogue is starting, but, up until now, all we had was tradition, on one hand, and the flaunting of tradition, on the other. That's still all we have. The liberals are starting to talk about going the final step and turning civil marriages into generic partnership agreements. The social conservatives bemoan the changes that have occurred and wax nostalgic about returning to some idealized tradition. Neither one of those will ever happen. The partnership thing would require a law change that can easily be blocked by the social conservatives. The return to tradition won't happen because hardly anyone really wants to go there. The pre-60s environment was riddled with hypocrisy, neuroses, and the keeping up of appearances. It may look good in the rear view mirror, but it wouldn't have fallen as quickly and as easily as it did if it had been such an ideal. In any event, any legal move to impose tradition would be blocked by the liberals and the libertarians. So we're drifting in this in-between place where civil marriage is a charade and no one is offering alternatives. We either come up with some solution or we continue to drift.
Karen |
