>>The Moynihan Report of 1965 was followed by years of social programs that certainly made the situation far worse than what even he predicted
Definitely there's a correlation between missing dads and the worst sorts of statistics for kids. Which seems strange: for 2 prior generations it was a regular event to ship dads off by the shipload to fight on foreign fields leaving mom to cope by herself, which she seemed to manage admirably. Maybe it's to do with a sense of social purpose and a unified belief that together we have something worth fighting for- not just a street corner or patch but a whole way of life?
"... They ne'er cared for us
yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses
crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to
support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act
established against the rich, and provide more
piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain
the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and
there's all the love they bear us."
-- Shakespeare: Coriolanus, Act 1, scene 1
