Newsweek mag. kicked it off with an article by Jessica Bennett: “Only You. And You. And You.” About new types of ‘family’ relationships with multiple, mutually consenting partners—called polyamory. They even provide a video interview of one such group and an interview of others. Here’s how the article begins:
Terisa Greenan and her boyfriend, Matt, are enjoying a rare day of Seattle sun, sharing a beet carpaccio on the patio of a local restaurant. Matt holds Terisa’s hand, as his 6-year-old son squeezes in between the couple to give Terisa a kiss. His mother, Vera, looks over and smiles; she’s there with her boyfriend, Larry. Suddenly it starts to rain, and the group must move inside. In the process, they rearrange themselves: Matt’s hand touches Vera’s leg. Terisa gives Larry a kiss. The child, seemingly unconcerned, puts his arms around his mother and digs into his meal.
Terisa and Matt and Vera and Larry—along with Scott, who’s also at this dinner—are not swingers, per se; they aren’t pursuing casual sex. …they aren’t religious, and they don’t have multiple wives. But they do believe in “ethical nonmonogamy,” or engaging in loving, intimate relationships with more than one person—based upon the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. They are polyamorous, to use the term of art applied to multiple-partner families like theirs, and they wouldn’t want to live any other way.
Response: Wow, I had no idea! Though I do remember the hippie communes of the 60′ and 70’s that mixed ‘free love’ and children all together in one big pot and drug fest. The real problem that I have with these type of arrangements is the kind of environment, confusion, and security/insecurity that it provides for children living in these fluid relationships. Are these type of ‘families’ good for raising children and for society in the long run–I think not! What do you think?
Here’s the conclusion to Dr. Albert Mohler’s great response to the article:
Perhaps the best way to understand this new movement is to understand it as a natural consequence of subverting marriage. We have largely normalized adultery, serialized marriage, separated marriage from reproduction and childbearing, and accepted divorce as a mechanism for liberation. Once this happens, boundary after boundary falls as sexual regulation virtually disappears among those defined as “consenting adults.”
The ultimate sign of our moral confusion becomes evident when virtually no one appears ready to condemn polyamory as immoral. The only arguments mustered against this new movement focus on matters of practicality. Polyamory is certainly not new, but this new movement is yet another reminder that virtually all the fences are now down when it comes to sex and sexual relationships. What comes next?
What next? The destruction of the family unit that brought strength and order to America for over 200 years and passed on American morality, religion, stability, identity, and the American way of life to the next generation. A disconnect with the past that made America great. What next–In 20 so years–a ‘polyamorous’ mainline Protestant Pastor?