I know for a fact that some of you have divorced parents. I could make that assumption without knowing who you are, where you're from, or what your parents were even like. Statistics speak rather loudly in this case; because your parent's met in the United States, their chances of actually staying married are about 50/50, depending how old they were when they got married. According to the January 2001 edition of The American Prospect, the United State's divorce rate tripled from 1960 to 1981, peaking at 53 percent, but has since gone down to 40 percent. When taking into account that this study views divorce rates in the general public, including toddlers, elders, homosexuals and heterosexuals, the numbers really begin to stand out(The American Prospect, 2001). Divorce is a debilitating venture. Before the 20th century, it was hard to obtain a divorce from one's partner, adultery, abuse, abandonment, and alcoholism were the only verifiable reasons.
Divorce is seen as an easy solution to a complicated problem. Money is one of the most fought over ideals in marriage. Monetary security is important for a stable family, so when it becomes an issue or if it began as an issue, separation and divorce are more likely to ensue. Of course this is one of many reasons but I believe it applies to many situations..including mine. Perhaps an enstatement of a lesser burden than marriage, where couples can move in together and maintain some of the same rights as married people. Perhaps I'm thinking too Utopian like. What do you think?
I think what you say is very true. Three out of my four closest friends' parents are divorced and even my parents have recently considered the idea. Today it seems as though marriage is a joke. Couples seem to just walk away from their problems instead of taking the effort to work on them. And the older I get, the more I realize that adults are just big kids and most still need to grow up.
I think that our generation will make a change in the divorce rate. We have grown up seeing our parents or our friend's parents getting divorces. Since we are the children of this generation I think that we will take more time before getting married and will also work harder to keep our marriages from ending in divorce. Marriage is not suppose to be easy but I also do not think it is something to be scared of. There should not be rights given to people who are together but will not get married. If you love someone and are able to work with them to make decisions then fight to make your marriage work. Do not chicken out just because you think its ok to fail at marriage because everyone else does.