People used to lament the advent of the nuclear family because it heralded the death of the extended family. Now, according to Britain’s top family court judge, we should applaud the death of the married mum, dad and kids family norm as it dies of neglect before our eyes.
Sir James Munby, president of the High Court’s family division, is very familiar with what he calls the “complexity” of family life these days. To simplify things, he told a university audience last week, we should forget about things like marital status or who exactly a child’s parents are, and welcome the new “reality” of people living together, married or unmarried, of opposite sexes or the same, monogamous or not.
It is easy enough to see social hazards in this trend and the whole piece is well worth reading, but this comment highlights an important problem too.
Whenever I see one of these "Ain't if awful" pieces the question that comes to my mind is "What do you suggest we do about it?"
For good or ill, norms of behviour are changing. So what should be done?
I do not see how there is any choice but to accommodate to the changes.
Indeed - what can one do other than adapt? To my mind the trend is deplorable for a number of reasons and there are sinister political aspects too, but apart from saying how deplorable it is, what is the most pragmatic response? What else can we do apart from what Mr Meyer suggests - accommodate to the changes.
Social change is a powerful beast but is anyone riding the beast? I don't think so. As intelligent beings we should be in the saddle but we are not. Nobody is.
6 comments:
You're right. Very little can be done about this and other trends by the individual. At best, we can make sure we don't contribute to them, and occasionally drop a word here and there to make sure people are aware that there are alternatives, that things can be done better. The worst outcome is that everyone forgets the good stuff because the bad stuff is so pervasive.
If I was a conspiracy theorist I'd think it was all part of the great plan. I'm not but I still think it's part of the great plan . . .
DCBain; it may or not be 'a plan', but judging from the outcomes I'd hardly call it 'great'.
I always thought that socialists were trying to destroy family life as a premise for their misguided ideas.
Now I know they do.
Britain should "welcome and applaud" the collapse of the nuclear family, the most senior family judge in England and Wales has said.
The actual words of this twerp, whilst he goes on to clarify what he has said he was well aware of the headline, maybe this is the future, in certain communities the single mother rate is over 50% not a lot to applaud there when everyone who is a taxpayer has to support this lifestyle choice.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/01/should-applaud-end-nuclear-family-says-top-judge/
O/T he looks remarkably like the Republic Prosecutor played by Dominique Daguer in Spiral the French thriller.
Sam - I agree, all we can do is drop a word here and there.
DCB and Bill - it may well be part of the great plan. It doesn't have to be explicit, merely a background assumption within elites.
Scrobs - I'm sure they are. Families don't figure in their visions.
Wiggia - it surprises me that a judge is prepared to go public on views like this.
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