I read Peter Ryan’s column, “Family Services”, in the November Quadrant. As usual, Peter’s dry wit served as a catalyst for thinking, like a small pebble that starts an avalanche. To continue his line of thought: the dangers, represented by the nanny state trying to fill the space left by the disintegration of the traditional family, are so numerous that I am able only to provide one illustration here. Some years ago my wife and I were invited to a wedding. The happy couple had lived together for many years and had a son of fourteen and a daughter of…