Monogamy.....no, that's not folding paper into swans and flowers.....
...but almost as complicated.
I though this might be appropriate for Mother's Day.
1. Monogamy, being committed to one person.
At one time, monogamy was the culture in America....seems no longer to be the case. It both represents, and has gone the way of, personal responsibility.
As have many other attitudes and values....
a. Envy has become a dominant feature of the culture...
Since the end of the Second World War, however, a new ethic has come into being, according to which the envious man is perfectly acceptable. Progressively fewer individuals and groups are ashamed of their envy, but instead make out that its existence in their temperaments axiomatically proves the existence of social injustice, which must be eliminated for their benefit.
Helmut Schoeck, Envy: A Theory of Social Behavior, p. 179
b. Since the 60s, Leftist political dogma has been based on the idea of a 'personal morality," an extension of which is envy, and could be reduced to this bumper-sticker: "if it feels good, do it."
2. The wave of vilification of bourgeois culture received impetus from The Authoritarian Personality, by Adorno, et. al. which identified antidemocratic indicia such as obedience, and respect for authority. Conservatism, of course, was another name for fascism, and represented personal pathology.
a. "...the ideal of a "patriarchal" family and middle-class respectability is something almost everyone is rebelling against....couples go ten years without tying the knot because they do not want to surrender to bourgeois values. Rebelling against "the establishment" is something that anyone can do.."
Tucker, "Marriage and Civilization: How Monogamy Made Us Human," p. 215-216
3. And the explanation as to why marriage and the two-parent family has given way to a more atavistic scenario is that monogamy is, after all, a cultural construct, meaning that it is not one modeled in nature.
It is an artificial plan that advanced societies impose on themselves. Where did this idea come from? From the experience of mankind throughout history.
a. This is the great contribution of our Judeo-Christian foundation to Western civilization. The principles are worked out over millennia as the result of human interactions and experience, and laid down in the Torah and the Gospels, and implemented through human actions memorialized in what is taught in families.
David Mamet, "The Secret Knowledge."
4. But, it is a difficult code, not one that satisfies everyone's desires, and stigmatizes all manner of deviation:
a. homosexual inclinations,
b. the temptation for dalliance with another's spouse,
c. pre-marital intercourse
d. having children out of wedlock
e. ...and more.
5. Things have changed in many ways.
"Today, vulgar language knows no class, sex, age or place. As late as 1960, sleeping with one's boyfriend was mostly a lower-class thing. It was deemed sluttish and something to be kept secret; today it's open and assumed to be normal . In some instances, unwed mothers proudly hold baby showers celebrating their illegitimate offspring. Homosexual marriages were unheard of; today, in some jurisdictions, homosexual marriages have legal sanction. Of course, to be judgmental about the new codes of conduct is to risk being labeled a prude and possibly a racist, sexist or a homophobe. America's New Role Models
6. "Left to their natural state, almost all species end up practicing polygamy, since the strongest males will dominate the physically weaker males and females. Polygamous societies of Islam and tropical Africa and of pre-history are much more 'natural' in that they give vent to a wider range of the deepest human impulses....Monogamy is the end point of civilized behavior that recognizes, however unconsciously, that enforcing the rules creates advantages at the societal level."
Tucker, Op.Cit.
...but almost as complicated.
I though this might be appropriate for Mother's Day.
1. Monogamy, being committed to one person.
At one time, monogamy was the culture in America....seems no longer to be the case. It both represents, and has gone the way of, personal responsibility.
As have many other attitudes and values....
a. Envy has become a dominant feature of the culture...
Since the end of the Second World War, however, a new ethic has come into being, according to which the envious man is perfectly acceptable. Progressively fewer individuals and groups are ashamed of their envy, but instead make out that its existence in their temperaments axiomatically proves the existence of social injustice, which must be eliminated for their benefit.
Helmut Schoeck, Envy: A Theory of Social Behavior, p. 179
b. Since the 60s, Leftist political dogma has been based on the idea of a 'personal morality," an extension of which is envy, and could be reduced to this bumper-sticker: "if it feels good, do it."
2. The wave of vilification of bourgeois culture received impetus from The Authoritarian Personality, by Adorno, et. al. which identified antidemocratic indicia such as obedience, and respect for authority. Conservatism, of course, was another name for fascism, and represented personal pathology.
a. "...the ideal of a "patriarchal" family and middle-class respectability is something almost everyone is rebelling against....couples go ten years without tying the knot because they do not want to surrender to bourgeois values. Rebelling against "the establishment" is something that anyone can do.."
Tucker, "Marriage and Civilization: How Monogamy Made Us Human," p. 215-216
3. And the explanation as to why marriage and the two-parent family has given way to a more atavistic scenario is that monogamy is, after all, a cultural construct, meaning that it is not one modeled in nature.
It is an artificial plan that advanced societies impose on themselves. Where did this idea come from? From the experience of mankind throughout history.
a. This is the great contribution of our Judeo-Christian foundation to Western civilization. The principles are worked out over millennia as the result of human interactions and experience, and laid down in the Torah and the Gospels, and implemented through human actions memorialized in what is taught in families.
David Mamet, "The Secret Knowledge."
4. But, it is a difficult code, not one that satisfies everyone's desires, and stigmatizes all manner of deviation:
a. homosexual inclinations,
b. the temptation for dalliance with another's spouse,
c. pre-marital intercourse
d. having children out of wedlock
e. ...and more.
5. Things have changed in many ways.
"Today, vulgar language knows no class, sex, age or place. As late as 1960, sleeping with one's boyfriend was mostly a lower-class thing. It was deemed sluttish and something to be kept secret; today it's open and assumed to be normal . In some instances, unwed mothers proudly hold baby showers celebrating their illegitimate offspring. Homosexual marriages were unheard of; today, in some jurisdictions, homosexual marriages have legal sanction. Of course, to be judgmental about the new codes of conduct is to risk being labeled a prude and possibly a racist, sexist or a homophobe. America's New Role Models
6. "Left to their natural state, almost all species end up practicing polygamy, since the strongest males will dominate the physically weaker males and females. Polygamous societies of Islam and tropical Africa and of pre-history are much more 'natural' in that they give vent to a wider range of the deepest human impulses....Monogamy is the end point of civilized behavior that recognizes, however unconsciously, that enforcing the rules creates advantages at the societal level."
Tucker, Op.Cit.
