Marriage important for society

As I write this article, the news just keeps adding to the long list of atrocities that plague our society. Mass shootings, increased number of suicides, opiate epidemic, sexual assaults, child neglect, homelessness, hunger, to name a few. To say we need more welfare programs; restricting of guns; getting drugs off the street; more facilities for the homeless, etc., is not a bad thing. But could that be just putting band aids on the results of at least one of a larger, societal problem?

The following is a quote from a recent published book “Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty.” Even if a person is not one of faith, this quote brings to our attention some real facts behind the sad and devastating actions going on in our world.

“Vast human experience confirms marriage is the original and most important institution of sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all persons in society. Where marriage is honored, and where there is a flourishing marriage culture, everyone benefits — the spouses themselves, their children, the communities and societies in which they live. Where the marriage culture begins to erode, social pathologies of every sort quickly manifest themselves.”

JOANNE ERLBACHER, Cape Girardeau