There is an increased interest in polygamy these days. It means a man could have more than one wife. The Criminal Code forbids
this practice. It is called bigamy. Polygamy or bigamy is not something to be taken lightly.
The media and even
some feminists tend to give this idea a positive swing these days. It could solve the babysitting problems for career wives
while other wives looked after their kids. The media does not seem to realize that if there are many problems these days
in monogamous relationships, the number of wives in a polygamous relationship could multiply these problems. Those in favor
of polygamy tend to gloss over these problems and the negative aspects of polygamy remain hidden.
Polygamy could
cause untold and notorious problems. This is the reason why Western societies have shunned the practice for at least a thousand
years. Therefore before this polygamy issue becomes widespread we should study it and realize the problems. We should ask
the questions and make the rules about polygamy before some oddball politicians -- we have lots of them -- decide to legalize
it. 1. How many wives should be allowed in a polygamous relationship? 2. Should a man be required to prove that he
can support multiple wives before entering this type of relationship? 3. Should the first wife have a say in whether her
husband should have a second or a third wife? 4. Should a polygamous family pay extra taxes to support the extra strain
on the school system because of the large number of children likely to come from a polygamous family? 5. What happens
if one wife wants a divorce? 6. What happens if one wife gets a divorce and then wants support from a man already supporting
several other wives? 7. If one or more of these divorced wives from a polygamous relationship wants to collect welfare
and then be supported by the taxpayers, how should the taxpayers react? 8. Should the taxpayers be obliged to support
these women and their children from polygamous relationships for the remainder of their lives?
There is another side
of this polygamy coin although I have seldom heard it discussed. It is the idea that a woman could have several husbands.
This idea has been used in remote areas to control population relative to the amount of land available. It cuts down on
infanticide, abortions and is a form of birth control.
