[keiferski]

Unless you think that things are always getting better, it is necessarily implied that some things were better in the past.

[coldpie]

Compare these two sentences:

> Having such a marriage in this day and age is truly a luxury, reserved only for the deepest of lovers.

> Having such a marriage is truly a luxury, reserved only for the deepest of lovers.

One contains a positive claim that something is worse now than it was before, which I think invites dispute and is entirely unnecessary anyway. It's a fine sentiment without the judgement.

[lthornberry]

This particular claim is just ludicrous, though. The idea that marriage is primarily about love and emotional companionship is an extremely modern idea. See Stephanie Coontz, Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage.