[bananas]

I think your point is quite possibly the greatest example of religious thinking I've seen for a while.

Perhaps the family structure is just as rotten as it always was but now we don't lobotomise our depressed wives, pile them up with valium and beat our kids to shut up about it.

It's no longer acceptable to put up with shit and abuse and unhappiness is the greatest thing that has happened to the western world.

[Ancorehraq]

Speaking of depressed wives and valium,

"Over the past two decades, the use of antidepressants has skyrocketed. One in 10 Americans now takes an antidepressant medication; among women in their 40s and 50s, the figure is one in four."

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/a-glut-of-antidepre...

[eevilspock]

To be clear, that does not imply that people are more depressed over the past two decades. On the positive side, it could mean that we're finally able to diagnose and treat something that has plagued us all along. On the negative side, it could be the direct result of the Big Pharma marketing and profit machine.

[crassus]

Where did I bring religion into it? It's valuable to have community norms that prevent people from throwing away their family as soon as times get rough or life fails to be "fulfilling" or entertaining. At least, ours is the first society that's ever thought differently, so we'll get to see how this whole experiment plays out.

Single parent families are a big part of the increasing economic stratification between rich and poor, and I expect our amorality will bear even worse fruits as time goes on.

[bananas]

Religious thinking is not about religion. It is a logical concept where the conclusion appears out of thin air devoid of any connection with the evidence. Similar to magical thinking but probably less fun.

Whilst you might be right that our amorality will bear worse fruits, the status quo prior to this wasn't any better ergo morality and the stable family isn't necessarily better, just different.

The difference is purely that people don't suffer in silence now. This in itself is a wonderful freedom that we all deserve.

[dTal]

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/06/my_virginity_mistake/

Would you have preferred she stayed with the man she impulsively married and had children in a loveless marriage?