Another milestone in the continuing redefinition of the American family:

For what experts say is probably the first time, more American women
are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York
Times analysis of census results.

In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.

Coupled with the fact that in 2005 married couples became a minority of
all American households for the first time, the trend could ultimately
shape social and workplace policies, including the ways government and
employers distribute benefits.

 It is a reminder of the transforming context of modern American life.  For someone interested in how Confucianism might relate to that context, it seems to me that it does no good to judge this as a "decline" or tragedy.  While it is true that, in his own time Confucius assumed male heads of households as the "gentlemen" who would work toward Humanity.  The beauty of his thought is that process of cultivating close personal and social relationships to develop one’s moral sensibilities and perform goodness in the world.  We just have to expand our definitions of "family" and "social relationships" to accomodate the variety of ways in which people now choose to make meaningful lives.  To make Confucius relevant we have to adapt his thinking to changing social circumstances – or just let go and cede the field of ethics to other, more flexible, systems of thought.

    I say we adapt and keep the conversation going…