Posted by
Billy on Thursday, June 25, 2009 11:53:39 AM
America's most televised parents of multiples made it official: They are splitting up. Kate minus Jon makes nine.
Yes, the children will suffer. But no doubt it will be good for ratings.
Well, there are worse tragedies than divorce, bigger problems in the world than the things that led Jon and Kate to break up their own family, as the headlines remind us. Even as Kate and Jon called it quits, a young Iranian woman named Neda captured the fickle attention of the world for her simple and defiant act of courage. Some things are worth dying for.
What kind of freedom will they die for in Iran? Political freedom -- the freedom to vote, to assemble, to speak? Economic freedom -- the freedom to produce, to create? Are these freedoms separable from the freedom to declare oneself free of obligation -- the freedom to divorce, to break up your own family? Is there some vision of human freedom that does not lead to the triumph of desire over duty, of aspiration over commitment?
This weekend, as Jon and Kate made their big announcement, I attended the 50th wedding anniversary of a close family member, who had married in India.
(The above is part of a column written by
Maggie Gallagher. Why don't we see people who have been married for 50 years on tv instead people like John and Kate. I do miss all the long last marriages the late Paul Harvey use to talk about on his radio program. How sad we don't hear about those marriages but instead we see a family split up. Read more of the above column The Divorce Will Be Televised.) -