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Societal trends on marriage
Short essay on the importance of marriage
Societal trends on marriage
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“Love is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise. If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever. A feeling comes and it may go.“―Erich Fromm. With love and promises comes a life changing situation- marriage. So at what age is it appropriate to marry? Teenage marriage has become a subject that many people have disagreed on over the last few decades. Some say that teenagers are not mature enough to marry, while others argue that if a teenager truly loves someone they should get married. If love is a promise, are teenagers prepared to make a commitment to marry someone else? Even though teenage marriage should be discouraged, the marriage can be successful if the couple puts Jesus first. Marriage is a commitment to your spouse. It is an obligation and a promise that you will keep for a lifetime no matter how difficult it may be (Ayer 16). Matthew 19:6 says, "What therefore God has joined together let not man separate". For this reason, marriage is far more than a human social contract; it is a divine covenant. Marriage is a permanent commitment; it is entered into by the husband and the wife before God as a witness. Because it is ultimately God who joins the couple together, the husband and the wife vow to each other "till death do us part” (Kostenberger 5). This view of marriage has changed over the years- husband’s and wife’s roles, the reasons for marriage, and the amount of marriages and divorces. Today, marriage is often viewed as something that is part of a society's expected behaviors and beliefs. Society believes that marriage is a thing that can be entered into and walked out of by the wedded partners at any time that they desire. So long as a... ... middle of paper ... ...amilyFind a website by URL or keyword...>. Lindsay, Jeanne Warren. Teenage couples dealing with money, in-laws, babies and other details of daily life. Buena Park, Calif.: Morning Glory Press, 1995. Print. Regnerus, Mark. "Christianity Today." The Case for Early Marriage. Christianity Today, 31 July 2009. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. . Stanton , Glenn T.. "The Gospel Coalition." The Gospel Coalition Blog FactChecker Divorce Rate Among Christians Comments. The Gospel Coalition Inc, 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. . "Teenage Marriage and Divorce." National Vital Statistics System. US. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 1 Sept. 1985. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. .
Human beings are not isolated individuals. We do not wander through a landscape of trees and dunes alone, reveling in our own thoughts. Rather, we need relationships with other human beings to give us a sense of support and guidance. We are social beings, who need talk and company almost as much as we need food and sleep. We need others so much, that we have developed a custom that will insure company: marriage. Marriage assures each of us of company and association, even if it is not always positive and helpful. Unfortunately, the great majority of marriages are not paragons of support. Instead, they hold danger and barbs for both members. Only the best marriages improve both partners. So when we look at all three of Janie’s marriages, only her marriage to Teacake shows the support, guidance, and love.
Is marriage really important? There is a lot of controversy over marriage and whether it is eminent. Some people believe it is and some people believe it is not. These opposing opinions cause this controversy. “On Not Saying ‘I do’” by Dorian Solot explains that marriage is not needed to sustain a relationship or a necessity to keep it healthy and happy. Solot believes that when a couple gets married things change. In “For Better, For Worse”, Stephanie Coontz expresses that marriage is not what is traditional in society because it has changed and is no longer considered as a dictator for people’s lives. The differences between these two essays are the author’s writing style and ideas.
Marriage is a commitment that seems to be getting harder to keep. The social standards placed on an individual by society and influenced by the media inevitably lead some to consider divorce as a “quick-fix” option. “Have it your way” has become a motto in the United States. It has become a country without any consideration of the psychological effects of marriage and divorce. The overwhelmingly high divorce rate is caused by a lack of moral beliefs and marital expectations.
Marriage is one of those things most women and some men look forward to in life. This generation is different from the rest of the generations before, where you had to get married by a certain age and follow a standard of living. Nowadays everyone has the option of getting married or not. There is so much individuality, and liberty to do whatever we please without lives that we can marry the same sex. Even if a couple does marry and say their vows that should mean so much to them, they are getting divorced the next day. “Among adults who have been married, the study discovered that one-third (33%) have experienced at least one divorce. That means that among all Americans 18 years of age or older, whether they have been married or not, 25% have gone through a marital split (New Marriage).” “Around the world, people are marrying later and divorcing often (Sernau).” Now that this epidemic of marriage and divorce has taken place over the last few generations parenting suffers a great deal.
Newman, Philip R. and Barbara M. Newman. Childhood and Adolescence. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., 1997.
Slocum, Meghan. "The Problems Faced by Teen Parents." LIVESTRONG.COM. 11 June 2010. Meghan Slocum. 04 Nov. 2013 .
Today young adults aren't married as young, but their marriage doesn't last as long either. For instance, Macaulay Culkin and his ex wife married both at the age of 17, but they ended up getting a divorce with him at the age of 19 and her at the age of 20. Their marriage only lasted for 2 years after they found out that their love for each other was really just a fling. I don't think that they should have been thinking about marriage at that age and point in their lives. They both had their own busy lives which they had already planned out what they wanted to happen. I'm sure neither of them had included the part about getting married at the age of 17. 1 also think that they really weren't as ready as they thought they were. They probably figured that because they feel that they are in love that they should just go ahead and take that extra step and get married to be with each for the rest of their lives, which didn't turn out that way.
Shiono, P., & Quinn, L. S. (1994). Epidemiology of Divorce . Children and divorce, 4. Retrieved April 17, 2014, from http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=63&articleid=408§ionid=2781
The debate on whether to get married or stay single has been raging for a long while, with both sides of the coin having their own pros and cons regarding the matter. Many proponents of either marriage or single life have strong individual convictions, and it is difficult to reach a definitive, objective conclusion. Is the married individual happier than his/her single counterpart, or is getting married just a comfort seeking ritual that people believe they have to fulfill at some point in their lives? It is necessary to dissect this issue in the light of four factors: health and other medical factors, the economic and financial factors, mental and emotional wellbeing and lastly, the social factors. According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of Married is “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”.
When we think of marriage, the first thing that comes to mind is having a lasting relationship. Marriage is a commitment of two people to one another and to each other?s family, bonded by holy matrimony. When a couple plans to marry, they think of raising a family together, dedicating their life to each other. That?s the circle of life--our natural instinct to live and produce children and have those children demonstrate your own good morals. I have never been married; but I don?t understand why when two people get married and vow to be together for richer and poorer, better or worse, decide to just forget about that commitment. A marriage should be the most important decision a person makes in his or her life.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. “Pathways to Adulthood and Marriage: Teenagers’ Attitudes, Expectations, and Relationship Patterns” Aspe.hhs.gov Web. 17 Nov. 2010.
In America, the society runs on what teenagers want. From Nicki Minaj to the junior section at Sears, most of what the people see, hear, or touch is aimed at the teenagers. Being an adolescent is probably the most exciting and most popular time period in a person’s life. The teens seem to have it all, but what about the parents who raise them? The parents of the teenagers never get any credit during this time period, although they have every right to. Parents and teenagers should strive for a strong, lasting relationship for these years, though most times there isn’t one. The relationship between teenagers and parents is the most vital bond in the family because this relationship should and will prepare them for the next step in life.
Dahl adds that “children of teenage mothers also have lower birth weights, have a higher rate of infant homicide, are often the victims of child abuse and neglect, have academic and behavioral problems in school, and are likely to engage in crime” (Dahl 691). The failure of teen marriages itself has caused a decline in teen marriages. Garber states that “the number of such marriages has declined, perhaps because young people realize that the odds against success are huge”
Marriage should be a mature and responsible decision; it should be a long-lasting commitment. People seem to take this commitment all too lightly in today's generation and it leads to high rates in early marriages. I strongly claim that early marriage is a violation of children's basic rights and to making decisions about their own lives. With the standards established up to date, marriage comes with manifold responsibilities; most of them teens are not prepared to handle. Nevertheless, marriage is a matter of choice, but would not it be better to wait a couple of years, so as not to regret the consequences, and not to pay dearly for mistakes?
Statistics show that in 1998, 2,256,000 couples became married, and 1,135,000 couples became divorced (Fast 1,2). For every two couples getting married, there is one that is getting divorced. In fact, half of ALL marriages end in divorce (Ayer 41). That is a sad reality to face. Those percentage rates increase as the age of the participant’s decrease. It seems these days, fewer and fewer teens between the ages of 14 and 18 are getting married. This is a change for the better. Teens are usually not prepared for marriage. Marriage comes with many responsibilities; most of which teens are not prepared to handle. “Early marriage, though possessing certain inherent dangers, is widely practiced in contemporary America” (Teenage 1). Even if teens feel they have the potential for a lasting marriage, they should still wait to become married.