NYT 'Marriage Is Dead' Story: A Hoax
When are we going to learn not to believe things we read in The New York Times?
On Jan. 16 (see our blog post, below) the Times reported that 51% of American women now say they're living without a husband. The story exploded into the media. Some pundits said the findings were grounds for changing various government and business policies.
Two days later, columnist Michael Medved exposed the story as a fraud.
"The entire story," wrote Medved, "has been cooked up from willful, blatant, and shameful distortions" by "one axe-grinding, agenda-driven journalist for the New York Times."
Consulting the 2005 Census figures, Medved found that 56% of women over the age of 20 are currently married. How, then, did the Times' Sam Roberts come up with 51% not married?
Easily, Medved said--and dishonestly.
First, he added to the "not married" category some 10 million unmarried teenagers, ages 15-19. That knocked the "married" women down to 51%. The Census, by the way, reported that 97% of "females" (not "women") aged 15-19 are not married--as anyone with common sense would expect to be the case.
He made up the remaining 2%, another 2,400,000 individuals, by counting women as "not married" whose husbands were temporarily absent (on business assignments, military service, hospitalization, incarceration, etc.).
So, by adding some 12.5 million women and girls to the "not married" category, Roberts got the number he wanted. It reminds us of the old chestnut: How many legs would a sheep have, if you called the tail a leg? The answer would still be "four," because calling the tail a leg doesn't make it one.
What would Robert have done next, if after adding 12.5 million to the "unmarried" category he was still short of 51%? We're sure he would've thought of something--maybe throw in "women" aged 12-15.
So the story isn't true, and marriage isn't dead. Nevertheless, it could still use a strong recommitment from American families and churches. The Bible teaches us that marriage and family are the basic building blocks ordained by God for human society. Statistics for or against the strength of marriage don't let us off following God's word.
On Jan. 16 (see our blog post, below) the Times reported that 51% of American women now say they're living without a husband. The story exploded into the media. Some pundits said the findings were grounds for changing various government and business policies.
Two days later, columnist Michael Medved exposed the story as a fraud.
"The entire story," wrote Medved, "has been cooked up from willful, blatant, and shameful distortions" by "one axe-grinding, agenda-driven journalist for the New York Times."
Consulting the 2005 Census figures, Medved found that 56% of women over the age of 20 are currently married. How, then, did the Times' Sam Roberts come up with 51% not married?
Easily, Medved said--and dishonestly.
First, he added to the "not married" category some 10 million unmarried teenagers, ages 15-19. That knocked the "married" women down to 51%. The Census, by the way, reported that 97% of "females" (not "women") aged 15-19 are not married--as anyone with common sense would expect to be the case.
He made up the remaining 2%, another 2,400,000 individuals, by counting women as "not married" whose husbands were temporarily absent (on business assignments, military service, hospitalization, incarceration, etc.).
So, by adding some 12.5 million women and girls to the "not married" category, Roberts got the number he wanted. It reminds us of the old chestnut: How many legs would a sheep have, if you called the tail a leg? The answer would still be "four," because calling the tail a leg doesn't make it one.
What would Robert have done next, if after adding 12.5 million to the "unmarried" category he was still short of 51%? We're sure he would've thought of something--maybe throw in "women" aged 12-15.
So the story isn't true, and marriage isn't dead. Nevertheless, it could still use a strong recommitment from American families and churches. The Bible teaches us that marriage and family are the basic building blocks ordained by God for human society. Statistics for or against the strength of marriage don't let us off following God's word.
