The Seriousness of Marriage
Divorce is on the rise. Many things influence this, one being social pressure. Many people are pressured to get married for reasons including, but not limited to, having a baby, a partner joining the military, to receive tax benefits, or due to influence from already married friends and family members. Americans are deciding to be married based on these pressures instead of waiting for love, as generations before us have done. These pressures eventually lead to divorce. Americans are becoming less committed to the idea of marriage, but that does not necessarily mean that they are less committed to their partners. Society has begun to look down on people who are not married, and we as a country have begun to outcast these individuals, which leads to even more pressure to be married for the wrong reasons.
To change this social justice issue we could look to strengthen the marriages that do exist by providing more marriage counseling to couples who need it. Also, if Americans were made to go through counseling before getting married, less and less people would be likely to get married for the wrong reasons.
Another way to recommit Americans to marriage is to change their outlook on it altogether. Not being married does not have to be the exception, and once our society is able to accept that, social pressures would be lifted from those who would have previously been wrongfully influenced to wed.
Source:
US Census Bureau. Statistical Abstracts of the United States. 2004-2005. “No. 70: Live Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Divorces: 1950-2002.” Online. www.census.gove/prod/2004pubs/04statab/visitat.pdf.
