British politicians are arguing about the family today. They might as well argue about the weather for all the difference it'll make.

Families are changing, for good or ill, because of forces beyond anyone's control. We live longer. We can be economically independent. We equate freedom with choice. They're mostly good things - though I suspect that choice is only liberating when you actually make a choice and commit to something: choice for choice's sake is depressing. My sense is that accepting the small group of individuals to whom your connected is the main struggle within families. Sometimes those individuals are unacceptable. Fair enough. Mostly though, they're not and accommodations - manageable commitment, in other words - can be found.