This book is a work in progress. You can buy a copy, right now, in PDF format, or, if you like, as a paperback. For details, visit our home page or send a request through our Contact form.

To follow the progress online, click on the little orange icon beside the P&S Press feed, over there in the right-hand sidebar. ⇒ ⇒ ⇒

SECTION 1, Continued:

God Is Great, Beer Is Good, and People Are Crazy

12. My fiancée says it’s not cruel to kick one’s child out of the house on their eighteenth birthday for no other reason than “they are now an adult, and they have to be reliant on themselves.”

What’s the whole story here? To come up with a sane answer, we’d need to know . . .

• What country are you in?
• What culture did she grow up in?
• How old is she and how much experience of life does she have?
• Does she now have a teenager?
• If so, is that teenager misbehaving in ways that put undue strain on the rest of the family?
• Will the kid be out of high school when s/he turns 18?
• Can the kid make a living? If not, why not? If so, is it enough to support him or her?
• Does she want to have a family, or does she just want to procreate?
• Does she even understand what “family” means, in the context of your culture?
• Have you already had a child with this woman?
• If so, what is your stand on the matter?
• If not, are you willing to do so, given her thinking on the matter?

If her philosophy conflicts powerfully with yours, why are you engaged to her, suggesting you seriously intend to marry her?

Are you willing not to have children so as to get around this heartless “philosophy” of hers?

If I were in love with a person who took this attitude, I would look for another love interest. Real quick.

If she’ll treat her own child like this, just imagine how she’ll treat you, once the romance wears off!