There is an article re-printed in the Opinion section of my paper today. It is written by Clarence Page, a columnist for The Chicago Tribune. He is writing on "Decline in wedlock is becoming a world-class worry".<P>It starts off with some basic stats on out of wedlock births. Then goes on to say, this isn't just a teenager or minority issue. He gave statistics from retired Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan on how this trend is going in the industrialzed world. White America's out-of-wedlock birth rate is 25%. Unreal. Black America's out-of-wedlock birth rate is 70%. This is beyond sad.<P>Moynihan states also that he suspected out-of-wedlock births grow as the penalties for such behavior shrink. Also, he noted that so far he has not seen a similar decline in respect for marriage in the less-developed world. Quote "As we succeeded in stabilizing an industrial ecomony, the consequences of what had previously been irresponsible and ruinous behavior receded". <P>This is a pretty good article. But I would also suggest that part of this issue is also no FINANCIAL consequeces to having children out-of-wedlock. You can be 14 and have a baby and receive a check and support for your actions. You can be 33 and find a married man (or two or three as some of them do), have a one-night-stand, get pregnant and collect a check that mirrors the dollars you would have received if you had lived with the man for 50 years. <P>There are financial incentives that reward folks who do not want to put the work into a marriage. You do not even have to take a short stab at marriage. At least some folks give it a half-way try. We are so scared in this country about offending someone and the ACLU jumping up and down that we have failed to protect families. We are scared to say "marriage is good". Stable strong families are the strength of a society. In my own opinion, God did not have to hand down an instruction to marry. Societies that have never heard of the Bible have an institution of marriage. Why is that? Why is it that tribes living on Pacific Islands have some sort of respect for the union of a man and woman and the offspring they produce? Could it be that this is critical to the survival of the society? That without this respect it all goes to hell in a hand basket?<P>I guess we can all think that we are more "progressive" than folks 200 years ago, and that we don't need a lot of old-fashioned values. But perhaps those values were really just basic concepts that have helped guied society and keep it out of trouble. Those are our natural adaptations to the environment, just like animals and plants have their adaptations. Animals just do a little better job at not doing things that cause them harm. Humans seem to think that the "rules" are just old stupid ideas that have no place and are only used to restrict their fun.<P>Be proud that you folks are all working for something that does matter. That doing things the "old-fashioned way" and trying to keep your marriage together may have benefits that go beyond factors that we think about. It may be we live longer and act healthier when we are in good, stable relationships. No STDs and unwanted children. No children wandering the streets and getting into trouble while their single moms work two jobs. Children that are more likely to finish school and be productive members of society. <P>I know there will always be single parents due to no fault of their own. I am not trying to bash them. All I am saying is, the better system is marriage and repect for families. And it now seems, based on Mr. Moynihan's statements, that out-of-wedlock births is becoming a world class problem. <P>Thank you for my opportunity to rant. Carolyn

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by takingcare:<BR><B>But I would also suggest that part of this issue is also no FINANCIAL consequeces to having children out-of-wedlock. You can be 14 and have a baby and receive a check and support for your actions. You can be 33 and find a married man (or two or three as some of them do), have a one-night-stand, get pregnant and collect a check that mirrors the dollars you would have received if you had lived with the man for 50 years.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Well said! This has been my argument forever.<P>Excellent, excellent editorial, Carolyn...thank you so much for writing such a true and thought provoking piece. I, for one, am printing it up for future reference. Oh, yeah, and let's all print this up and accompany it with our letters to our representatives.<P>Catnip =^^=<P>