Authored by Stephen Moore via The Epoch Times,
The Beatles told us: "All you need is love."
They were right, but along with love must come marriage.
But marriage rates have plummeted, especially among young men.
A Pulitzer Prize-worthy story by Sean Salai of The Washington Times crunches all the numbers. To say they are worrisome would be a vast understatement.
- In 2025, nearly twice as many men ages 18 to 39 were unmarried as were married.
- There were 30.4 million unmarried men ages 18 to 39 in 2025, up 47 percent from 20.7 million in 2000.
- In the same period, married men in this age range dropped by 15 percent, from 18.1 million to 15.4 million. "Such men are more likely to be lonely, prone to deaths of despair and unhappy," according to Brad Wilcox, a University of Virginia sociologist.
- Forty-two percent of working-class men are unmarried, according to educational psychologist Donna R. Turner. In 1980, 73 percent of working-class men were married.
I could go on and with these depressing statistics.
But I believe the decline in marriage and children is a threat to the American future much more dangerous than even the national debt, climate change, cancer or foreign aggression.
Family is the essential organizing unit in America. We're not to live in Soviet-style communes where the authority figure is "Big Brother."
Every study shows that the decline in marriage among young men is tied to alcoholism, violent crime, drug abuse, pornography, depression, isolation, less economic success and suicide.
Are women to blame?
Certainly. Study shows that as women have become more career oriented, they are having a harder time "marrying up."
Generation X and millennials have become choosier in finding a mate and more likely to have children alone, if they have them at all.
"Women have less structural need for marriage than past generations did," said Angelica Gianchandani, a New York University finance instructor. "Rising income and education give many women a financial independence marriage once provided, and donor sperm and fertility treatment have decoupled motherhood from a partner altogether."
Women are much less likely to be religious today than in decades past. So holy matrimony is less of a lifetime priority or moral obligation.
We do know that when women raise children without a father in the home - for whatever reason - their kids, especially their sons, are less successful. It's a particular problem for black women to find a suitable mate when so many young black males are incarcerated.
I'm thrashing for explanations and solutions to this deeply troubling social trend. Obviously, we are not returning to the "Father Knows Best" norms of the 1950s or 1960s.
But recovery starts with admitting we have a problem. I would suggest that President Donald Trump announce a national bipartisan commission on "Rediscovering Love, Marriage and Parenthood."
One last stat to underscore the urgency of turning around these trends:
The latest Census Bureau data indicate that 47 percent of households were headed by married couples last year, down from 78.8 percent in 1949.
That trend MUST be reversed to advance America's economic prosperity and human happiness.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
Tyler Durden Sat, 09/19/2026 - 09:20Provocative rumors have been flying all week that Saudi Arabia has recruited Syrian militants to fight the Houthis in Yemen, at a moment the Iran-aligned rebel groups is said to be rapidly gobbling up more territory, especially along the Red Sea coast.
The claim has been especially strong in Lebanese media, after prominent Al-Akhbar reported this week that hundreds of Syrian fighters were recently transferred to southern Saudi Arabia, including fighters who took part in the Jolani/HTS-led fight to topple Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. However, it's unclear if the alleged fighters have Syrian state backing (whether on a covert level or not), or if they could be there on their own initiative as mercenaries.
Seen in Libya over past years: Syrian troops from the National Army of the Free Syrian Army, via Al MonitorThe Saudis had provided strong covert support, along with other Gulf states, to the over decade-long effort overthrow of Assad, and so Riyadh could now being calling in favors from Damascus.
The phenomenon of Syrian mercenaries and foreign fighters transferred in large numbers to other broader conflict theatres is not without precedent, as many are still said to be in Libya.
However, their deployment in Yemen might not yet be a reality, and it could just be that Saudi officials have pitched it as just an idea or possibility, amid the ongoing appeal also for more help from Western allies including the US and Britain.
On Friday Turkish media is reporting that Damascus has rejected the alleged Saudi plea to send Syrian militants for fighting in Yemen. According to Turkiye Today:
Syrian sources who spoke to Türkiye Today said Saudi Arabia had in recent months sought fighters to meet its military needs in Yemen, but that the Syrian government had "politely" rejected a request to organize and deploy a Syrian force against the Houthis.
"This issue has been exhausted and is over. The Saudi request was made several months ago. Syria politely turned it down, saying it was focused on its own military organization process and did not intend to enter a conflict as a third party," one of the sources said.
However, the same sources indicated the Sharaa/Jolani government would not prevent Syrians as individuals from traveling for the purpose of assisting the Saudi coalition.
Separate reports this week have speculated that Turkey could get involved in the fight for Yemen on Saudi Arabia's behalf based on the recently inked Mecca Defense Pact. But that too is simply at the level of unfounded rumor at this point.
The same Turkish media report underscores, "Claims that Türkiye had played a role in transporting or organizing Syrians for deployment to Yemen were also rejected by Turkish sources."
Who would have thought that rising fuel prices caused by an Ansarallah Houthis attack on a Saudi Arabia pipeline may topple the Ahmad Al Sharaa regime in Syria?
Which regime will topple if Qatar is attacked? https://t.co/C2BTt24zdR
The unnamed sources said: "We have no involvement in this matter. Syria and Saudi Arabia are sovereign countries." As for Turkish media, the reports of Damascus slamming the door on Riyadh ring true given post-Assad Syria is facing serious problems on many fronts, especially internal unrest and large demonstrations this week over fuel price hikes. It doesn't have the military power or resources to get much involved in Yemen at this stage.
But on the other side of this, it also remains true that the Turkish government has long sought to use Syrian militants as fodder for its grander designs in places like North Africa.
Tyler Durden Sat, 09/19/2026 - 08:45