tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post2704223172653249999..comments2024-03-27T08:39:28.807-06:00Comments on Wash Park Prophet: The Changing Face Of MotherhoodAndrew Oh-Willekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-63292242041294576792008-05-13T11:08:00.000-06:002008-05-13T11:08:00.000-06:00I disagree. Saying marriage is one size fits all ...I disagree. Saying marriage is one size fits all is like saying religion is one size fits all. Forcing everyone into one definition of marriage is what leads to the battle between the evangelicals and the homosexuals.<BR/><BR/>As a devout Catholic, I know for certain what the word "marriage" means. But I'm not foolish enough to think that I can, through force of government decree, impose that definition or any other definition upon the rest of the pluralistic US population.Michael Malakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10007582156392845677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-38882971020579882002008-05-12T18:16:00.000-06:002008-05-12T18:16:00.000-06:00I would suggest that while there may have been iss...I would suggest that while there may have been issues of understanding and consent associated with no fault divorce (particularly for those who married prior to its enactment), that the ability to unilaterally end a marriage is now well understood and that expectations would be defeated going forward by prohibitions on unilateral divorce.<BR/><BR/>Of course, consent and expectations aren't that important if marriage is primarily considered a status rather than a contract, which it basically is. Marital agreements can make some modifications to the deal, but basically, marriage is a one size fits all arrangement.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-19168614609067453262008-05-12T11:52:00.000-06:002008-05-12T11:52:00.000-06:00My main concern with No Fault Divorce is that peop...My main concern with No Fault Divorce is that people entering marriage may not be familiar with it. It defies common sense. Mutual divorce is common sense. It goes back to my suggestion of eliminating government-controlled marriage -- make people work through and decide what they want in their marriage contract.Michael Malakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10007582156392845677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-26373307889422226992008-05-12T09:36:00.000-06:002008-05-12T09:36:00.000-06:00Michaelmalak: I am not attempting to be comprehens...Michaelmalak: I am not attempting to be comprehensive in this post -- that would take a book. Allowing mutal divorce while prohibiting unilateral divorce without fault is certainly possible, but I'm not sure that it is fruitful. In the bad old days, the proof of fault in fault based divorces was highly destructive, and denying a divorce after one was seriously sought was asking for all sorts of problems, so it isn't that easy.<BR/><BR/>I'm am not convinced that, empircally, divorced women are better off than they were 40 years ago, and remarriage is important to mitigate harm.<BR/><BR/>As far as mutual goals go, I would suggest that the evidence points to that being rather weak glue. Maybe we don't need marriage the way we used to, but I don't think that this will achieve that end.<BR/><BR/>Dave Barnes: I am perfectly aware that I am getting at the idea of having smart people marry less smart people. I'm not at all certain whether it would work or not.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-27776922117366593762008-05-10T10:15:00.000-06:002008-05-10T10:15:00.000-06:00"If our society abandoned the prevailing trend tow..."If our society abandoned the prevailing trend towards assortive marriage in which one marries ones socio-economic equal, and embraced marriages between people who are clearly economically unequal"<BR/><BR/>What you forget is that being a college graduate is a rough proxy for IQ. So, asking college graduates to marry non-graduates is asking them to marry stupid people. (And, yes, I have heard of Bill Gates.) This is not going to happen in any broad sense.Dave Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07355264650239868491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-85208653984590353082008-05-09T16:34:00.000-06:002008-05-09T16:34:00.000-06:00No Fault was an extreme overreaction to the situat...No Fault was an extreme overreaction to the situation of mutual divorce being disallowed, which led to wives allowing husbands to bruise them to prove to the court that a divorce was warranted. No Fault went too far, for now it allows unilateral divorce. The pendulum needs to go to the middle to allow mutual divorce but disallow unilateral divorce.<BR/><BR/>Actual, as a libertarian, my preference is to get the government out of marriage and force couples to write their own marriage contracts. Then they can choose old-fashioned permanent, mutual, or unilateral.<BR/><BR/>Since your piece was about economics, your not mentioning it in the context of No Fault Divorce is a glaring omission. No Fault Divorce allows wives of frugal husbands to cash out half the net worth and finally go to Nordstrom's. No matter the long-term economic prognosis for divorced women, the fact is divorced women today are better off economically than divorced women forty years ago.<BR/><BR/>Your separation between secular and sacred is too broad. Catholics are about the only ones anymore that make remarriage difficult. And from my observation, white evangelicals and African-Americans attend church more for the experience and are less likely to live their faith than Mormans, Muslims, and High Protestants. Avowed atheists, at least, have a firm belief system that could anchor them more than the vast population of agnostics.<BR/><BR/>As a social conservative, I would of course have looked beyond just No Fault, economics, and faith. I would have also looked at abortion, birth control, and pornography.<BR/><BR/>Strengthening marriages through economic dependence -- I'm not sure whether you were serious about that. An alternative is to encourage mutual goals, such as starting a business. Before the Industrial Revolution, both husband and wife worked at home. Today, both husband and wife go off to different jobs (themselves a great source of temptation toward infidelity). It would be nice if husband and wife could actually spend some time together.Michael Malakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10007582156392845677noreply@blogger.com