On the home page of Microsoft’s popular Web-mail program Hotmail, there is a link to an article which asks, “Is monogamy a joke

these days?”

Fortunately the article ends up

supporting monogamy, though without more support than the claim that “most of us

cling to romantic notions of finding The One and being linked forever and

exclusively with a soul mate.” This is typical, I think, of much popular

opinion about marriage and family life: “Yes, I believe this, but I can’t really

explain why.”