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I think it's because they don't want us to know or think about how these "smaller" issues relate to the bigger stories.

The decline in traditional marriage is due to the increase in internal migration. (We move a lot from city to city over the course of a lifetime.) The main function of traditional marriage was economic. The family was where most production of goods and services took place. People married for money, for children, for land. The relationship between husband and wife was economic. She worked like a slave and provided children for the next generation. He had the property (even if he got it from her family) and represented the family to others.

The spouses didn't have to like or even respect each other, they only had to do their jobs. They didn't even have to interact much (beyond enough sex to have children). That was traditional marriage and the reason for the norms that grew up around it.

Modern marriage is predominantly psychological support. Friendship (affection) is vital. That spouse is necessary for emotional support. When a couple moves to a new location they often have no friends there for a time. During that time the psychological support from the spouse is all that keeps one sane and balanced. Child rearing, though suffers because there are so few adult family members present to care for the young children. Unless one or both of the couple are good parents, the child may have a really bad time.

Larry: Perhaps a two parent (of opposite genders) family was what God (or nature) intended. Perhaps the current trend is not the best environment for small children and for society as a whole. Doesn't nature (or God) set ground rules for the best scenario?

Thomas,

Nature gave humanity no instincts (no complex patterns of automatic response to stimuli) so we have to depend on learning from learning how to swallow mother's milk and how to get it into our mouths, to how to grasp things with the hand to walking and so forth. Marriage / family is another of those things we have to learn. Naturally, what works well in one context may be terrible in some other context. There's isn't just one right way to do marriage. So the "ground rules" are whatever works in the situation at the time.

The current trends are people trying to do the best they can. Some are doing very well in traditional marriages. Some are destroyed by traditional marriages. Some are succeeding in non-traditional relationships. Some are failing utterly in non-traditional relationships. We haven't got it figured out yet and because things continue to change rapidly there's a good chance it will be several generations before we begin to get a good handle on things.

What we can be sure of is that a marriage / family set of norms (customs) that worked well in an agricultural society 1500 years ago will absolutely not work in a modern, information age society. Such norms will do far more harm than good.

Larry: Thank you for your comments. With all due respect I maintain that children, on their own, with no outside input, can not adequately create and maintain their own curriculum.

Thomas,

With all due respect, I agree with you completely.

Discrimination will always matter to the 24 hour news as money is the results of those broadcasts. Saying why something happened takes the mystery out of the equation, even if they in the broadcast media had some idea as to why an events happened at all, which they in the media usually don’t have a clue anyway.

Therefore education is in reality in my opinion the only answer, not the 24 hour news cycle.

TURMOIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST. The media has no clue as to as to what is going on, also there is no one to tell them

DRUG ADDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES that issue can only be addressed by education in our schools.

GUN VIOLENCE IN THE U.S. We in the USA will never give up our guns, maybe some but never all or even close to all.

THE DECLINE OF TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE The new normal. We as a people are living longer and we will never, continue with relationships that are bad. Also the love of those in the same sex, which has always been with us has finally been recognize as a fine relationship and is totally acceptable almost everywhere in the country

EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES for some lazy kids that’s for sure. However, for many the Educational system is still the greatest on this earth.

Richard: Thank you. There is wisdom in what you say. I agree that the media does not have the answers, however there are those who do.

Yes, however, they don't want to talk about it at all

Richard: I meant outside the media. Those who have the answers are not given the opportunity to express them.

You have brought up some good questions...The media will never admit that our morals are declining ... No one cares about morals anymore... If you have a religion, you are made out to be stupid...What used to be good is now bad and what used to be bad is now good...we live in a mixed up world... no wonder there are so many out there that just dont care and value life, they have nothing in their lives or future to look up to..

Truth: You hit the nail squarely on the head, and I love you for that. I can see that neither you nor I are among those who have "nothing in our lives to look up to".

All religions are equal as you do know, therefore the USA needs to accept idea of Freedom of all religions.

Richard: Yes, of course. But some religions are a distortion of what God intended.

All of these issues you mention have some basis in greed, selfishness, seeking power, and territorial dispute (which is again greed, selfishness, and seeking power).

The last factor I detest is the spread of lowest common denominator values or prurient interests by most media and their emotional uneducated audiences who can't stop listening/watching stupid media products. There are some who choose to not get sucked into media stupidity involving base unproductive news.

Jeff: You said it. And how!