Sittin' in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
First comes love
Then Comes Marriage
Then comes Johnny with a Baby Carriage!
Well guys and "gals" (wow NOT WOKE huh?) here it is about 45 days since my last post.
In those last several weeks, a lot has happened in Washington DC, the Middle East, Iowa etc, But, as you probably realize I generally try to refrain from jumping into "pure" politics Observation readers are of many different political opinions and frankly you do not need me to add to the wide partisan divide at this time one way or the other.
I do love commenting on "issues" however and thanks to John DelNegro the my first Observation was stimulated by an interesting piece in the WSJ "Life and Arts" section.
Here is link :https://www.wsj.com/articles/co-parenting-sites-skip-love-and-marriage-go-right-to-the-baby-carriage-11578393000?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=11
Now John always find some way to get me going on a topic and you can thank or curse him for prodding this Observations Post (The first part anyway)
For those of you paywalled from The WSJ here are a couple of excerpts that will give you the gist.
Co-Parenting Sites Skip Love and Marriage, Go Right to the Baby Carriage
A new kind of online service matches people who want to have children, but not necessarily romance.
( My Note: Now you might see the connection to today's song, a "ditty" most of you probably first heard in Kindergarten. It basically lays out the path from youth, to courtship, to "traditional marriage" to what was in my opinion the very foundation of the "marriage Institution" having and raising children. )
This pic and intro in a nutshell gives away the article
Jenica Andersen, left, and Stephan DuVal, center, talk with Jeanne Hebl, a certified nurse-midwife. The two met through PollenTree, which matches would-be parents who want to share custody of a child without any romantic expectations. PHOTO: LIDO VIZZUTTI FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
and the first few paragraphs.
When Jenica Andersen felt the tug for a second child at age 37, the single mom weighed her options: wait until she meets Mr. Right or choose a sperm donor and go it alone.
The first option didn’t look promising. The idea of a sperm donor wasn’t appealing, either, because she wanted her child to have an active father, just like her 4-year-old son has. After doing some research, Ms. Andersen discovered another option: subscription-based websites such as PollenTree.com and Modamily that match would-be parents who want to share custody of a child without any romantic expectations. It’s a lot like a divorce, without the wedding or the arguments.
Given the prominence in today’s society of both single parenthood and online dating, this digital approach could be seen as a natural progression. It could also be considered shocking or even, as some have called it, an affront to marriage.
“It’s a controversial approach to creating a family and there are people who balk at it, but the idealized version of a man and woman falling in love is shortsighted,” said Ms. Andersen, now 38—and pregnant.
So in this "modern" day and age, where like 35% of kids have no father present we have an "app" for that. No Romance no wedding vows etc. Just a "contract" shuffling kids back and forth to divergent living situations without the "messiness" of divorce! Yippee Nuclear family problem solved!
Well I will keep my "Observation" on this issue very short.
Hey why on Earth would such an arrangement be bad?? Right....While I will not pretend to make this particular article into a sign that these two apps are leading us to a societal apocalypse, it sure says a lot about how many single men and women see the "worth" of marriage these days. Personally I am convinced it is this "underlying" unease many of us have with social trends that is contributing "Big time" to the vehemence of opposing sides in the Cultural War.
Readers I am now going to break with tradition and make a second comment on a recent political event that I found very disheartening. No it is not Iran, impeachment, impending "socialism" or radicals on the left or right.
It is about political agreement, consensus, and trying to avoid a government shutdown. Congress came together right before Christmas. Yipee how did that happen.
Well when they passed a spending bill the Democratic House and Republican Senate decided to "toss in" (Mitch McConnell a big supporter) a ban on Cigarette (or any tobacco) sales to anyone less than 21 years old....COUNTRYWIDE. Now don't get me wrong I know cigarettes are probably "bad" for you. I also know that historically it was STATES that had the power to decide the age of majority (how old to marry, when you could quit school etc etc). States could also ban cigarette sales period (Or alcohol even etc). Heck it took and AMENDMENT to the constitution to ban alcohol countrywide. Remember?
Well it seems now a ok to everyone to federally sneak a bill disenfranchising young adults nationwide through ,a spending bill. No debate no media coverage nothing. Walaa simply use our "power" and we disenfranchise every person age 18-21 from a right everyone else has in most states. Huh?? In my opinion with adulthood comes the right to risky behavior. Yes, smoking, or unprotected sex, skiing, skydiving, driving, etc. Heck someone on this blog might explain to me how so many now say the federal Government needs to protect a transgendered kid's "right" to decide to have a sex change at say 15, for peat's sake, but heaven forbid a kid in the military should buy a cigar. It is NUTS.
Now I respect the tradition of States rights to set age of majority rules which get vetted locally. However, federal action like this is crazy and sticks in my crawl bigtime.
One wonders where were all those "States Rights" republicans were on this? So much of our current political divide is due to the "stakes" of having every aspect of our lives controlled by the Federal Government, our healthcare, or education systems, our definition of life and marriage. It is the very reason that each of us see everything is at stake nationally and we see it in good/evil terms. It is why we are so damn invested in "who is president".
Why Because the Federal Government controls too much of everything, and both parties enjoy playing the game..
Until next time I bid you adieu.
