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This is a good time to consult Chesterton's fence [1]. If you go up to something that's existed for thousands of years, and find it tempting to declare it point

This is a good time to consult Chesterton's fence [1]. If you go up to something that's existed for thousands of years, and find it tempting to declare it pointless cruft that should be swept away in the march of progress, maybe there's something you're missing. I don't have time to make an extended argument but one idea is that the most important part of marriage isn't for the happiness/benefit/pleasure/romance of the couples, but for the benefit of children. Studies demonstrate that children of single-mothers have worse outcomes, such as worse mental health outcomes. A marriage is supposed to be difficult to get out of, to disincentivize broken families. Not that this is anywhere close to a full answer; cultural evolution [2] means we may never get to a full understanding of whether/why the customs we have are beneficial, simply because societal dynamics are extremely complicated and still beyond our understanding. [1] https://fs.blog/2020/03/chestertons-fence/ https://fs.blog/2020/03/chestertons-fence/ [2] https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/06/04/book-review-the-secret-of-our-success/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/06/04/book-review-the-secret...

redis_mlc 6y ago
> If you go up to something that's existed for thousands of years, and find it tempting to declare it pointless cruft that should be swept away in the march of progress, maybe there's something you're missing. No, you're missing recent US feminist-related Family Court changes: - no-fault divorce, often at no expense to women - men almost always paying for divorce, child support, and lawyer fees, often reaching 100% of their assets - false allegations always punish men unless they have video evidence to the contrary. Divorce lawyers encourage women "to remember" any such events, real or imaginary. > A marriage is supposed to be difficult to get out of, to disincentivize broken families. You're very, very misinformed. In California, all it takes is one phone call to a divorce attorney, and a mom can set the wheels in motion to take almost 100% of the assets of her (formerly) middle-class husband. It's that easy. Family Court has made it absurdly easy to break up families. If you work for a living, then protect yourself and never get married or have kids in California. Absolutely never.

redis_mlc 6y ago

> If you go up to something that's existed for thousands of years, and find it tempting to declare it pointless cruft that should be swept away in the march of progress, maybe there's something you're missing. No, you're missing recent US feminist-related Family Court changes: - no-fault divorce, often at no expense to women - men almost always paying for divorce, child support, and lawyer fees, often reaching 100% of their assets - false allegations always punish men unless they have video evidence to the contrary. Divorce lawyers encourage women "to remember" any such events, real or imaginary. > A marriage is supposed to be difficult to get out of, to disincentivize broken families. You're very, very misinformed. In California, all it takes is one phone call to a divorce attorney, and a mom can set the wheels in motion to take almost 100% of the assets of her (formerly) middle-class husband. It's that easy. Family Court has made it absurdly easy to break up families. If you work for a living, then protect yourself and never get married or have kids in California. Absolutely never.