Matthew Lloyd, the society we have enjoyed to date and the one our Diggers fought and died for, was that which was built on the Judeo/Christian model. You can deny this all you like. Obviously you are an athiest and are offended by anything Christian.

You state:
"Your radical outbursts are an embarrasment to the rest of us who oppose the breakdown of the family unit in society."

Ha, I don't recall making any outbursts as you call it. Just as I commented, those who hate the truth being told, always find they have to attack and vilify the person making the comments they hate. And yep, you are doing exactly that to me.

You hate Christianity. So what!
You're allowed to and I am not going to condemn you for it.

I respect your right to make your comments and thoughts made publicly, why can you not afford me the same respect?

Interesting how the Tories are going all gooey red by matching their security fightback with a social fightback. The McCarthyists will justifiably feel betrayed.

Meanwhile Duncan Smith, the Tories work and pensions secretary stunned the 'born to rule' class by declaring: "You know, stiffing somebody on a debt in the City, or raiding someone's telephone for messages, claiming expenses that you should not have claimed … all of us have to recognise we have to put our own house in order at the same time, and try and change that. ...for too long, those at the top of society had been willing to believe that different moral standards applied to them."

Predictably, the communist Ed Miliband could only agree with his sworn enemy: "It's not the first time we've seen this kind of me first, take what you can attitude. The bankers who took millions while destroying people's savings – greedy, selfish, immoral. The MPs who fiddled their expenses – greedy, selfish, immoral. The people who hacked phones to get stories and make money for themselves – greedy, selfish and immoral. Let's talk about what this does to our culture."

Far out hey. Perhaps finally, just perhaps, there is a realisation that change must come from the top down and this is not some cheap Church of England self flagellation.

Leaders and those in power actually leading by example? Who'd have thunk it.

But then again the fruit of political rhetoric is hypocrisy until it's actions speak louder than it's words.

Finally a word from Jesus: "How can you think of saying, 'Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye."

When the NURTURE function across a large section of society is broken, this leads to widespread social dysfunction. That is to say it shapes the NATURE of society down the track. Widespread fatherlessness is one strong indication of a broken nurture function.

It seems obvious to me that the nurture function in society is most enhanced by society promoting the active involvement of both a mother and father in the creation and raising of their own children to adulthood. Is there anyone else with a more vested interest in a positive outcome for the child and more willing to undertake the self-sacrifices necessary for this to succeed? And how does a society best encourage both the mother AND the father to undertake this task to completion? I believe that society esteeming and rewarding traditionally defined marriage provides the most reliable and secure context for this process occur.

Well said Brain, I couldn't agree more!

In general I have no specific problem with the content of the article. Perhaps the more pertinent question should be the one related to an over-populated planet, with the resultant pull draw down of resources that is now clearly constraining economics, thus the socio-economic problems that have resulted in these riots. Whether or not fatherless youth were involved to the extent indicated, remains to be seen.

Paw - you stated:
'This country was forged and formed on the Judeo/Christian model, which saw the whole of society built on the nuclear family unit.'

According to my knowledge and education our country was actually forged and formed on the Greek democratic model, christianity was but a part of this formation and forging.

By the way, I am a happily married man with two wonderful young children and a caring and considerate wife. If one or both of my boys turns out to be gay, I would hope that they are afforded the unbiased opportunity to have any union, whether gay or not, or perhaps remain single as every person raised in this great country should.

Also, gay couples don't always use science to conceive, they have friends, gay and hetrosexual, who are happy to make the appropriate donation so that conception can occur, just my unbiased 5 cents worth.

basically author's saying without stable and secure fatherchild bond you get dysfunctional youths and eventually dysfunctional society...

agree...if have to identify major factors to these dysfunctional, first is women as mothers and dominant role is care and raising of young child(6monthsto6years age especially)...

why?...well think of this a scale...one end child and their bodyspace protected, and supported to develop into the individual they were going to be...you get a capable adult with a dynamic brain responses, that in any situation they find themselves can reason and act effectively...

other end scale...bodyspace constantly attacked and individuality broken...what results is insecure adult in 'unlearning' repetitive behaviour pattern mode, with very little awareness of self...

so put yourself where you think you are on this scale...

first makes for strong and developing society, second for obedient and controllable society...

so look at our immediate society...and if we are dysfunctional then you know where majority of us are in scale...dysfunctional as in real problems are dealt with ineffective methods, and problems keep escalating...

so who does what?...the first I must say in western society is rare indeed, and see it more in third world countries in poorest isolated communities, as individuals they have a robust personality, second in western, and done by women, women, womenx8...when last estimated, more than 80% of children in western countries have no or minimal contact with their genetic fathers...of which now percentage of children growing up in women only households increasing rapidly...

so women organized to achieve total domination of child within home\kinda\, the pattern goes into schools as well...are they going to let up despite the obvious harm...dont think so, even the parliament have not to date addressed this with a law defining and enforcing a proper standard for parenting...I expect lot of women to fail, and the government continues with policies that eventually say child only with mother is good, with father is bahaaad...

so where to?...think the world has got to a place where unresolved escalating pastproblems have now got to crisis levels...whatever solution would need to be drastic methinks...or future survival is in question...

sam