When we are born, we already have a predetermined path. Some people would argue that God has a reason for putting you on this earth, and others would say you’re a product of your upbringing and environment, others say it’s all in the genes. Some parents have their child’s path planned out straight through college. But is that where life ends? Once you’re done with college is your journey over? We are human, animals to put it simply. Since the dawn of time we have been looking for companionship, for another “soul” that is intertwined with our own. Sharing a special bond with someone is supposed to be a revelation, but throughout the centuries marriage has become so diluted that it has lost its meaning. I would like to discuss in this paper why marriage is just something that has become another step in life and people leap in and don’t even think twice about it. How marriage at one point in time was arranged for money, social standing, and power, and love came after. We as American’s believe in the freedom of speech, and I believe we took it to the next level and started marrying out of love. Then it became the social norm, and I believe we started to marry just to marry because it is the next thing to do in life without even thinking about the consequences. This paper will delve a bit into the history of marriage and why it means so much to people to get married. I will discuss divorce and how that has affected the “modern family”, as well as how I feel divorce has become the social norm.
Erwin J. Haeberle writes that the way our marriage system has been made is strongly tied to the policies and procedures of the Christian church from medieval times along with the establishment of the protestant reformation and lastly “the social ...
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...e the majority. The hopeless romantic in me would like to think that Marriage is forever, and the happily ever after do occur, but the realist inside knows otherwise. My parents got divorced when I was 10 and my father has since been married twice, my mother is in the process of getting a divorce from her second marriage, my uncle is a divorcee, both my aunts are divorced, and the same goes for the majority of my parents’ friends. Not many marriages last, but the ones that do are unfortunately subject to the tests of time.
Works Cited
1.) http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/ATLAS_EN/html/history_of_marriage_in_western.html
2.) http://www.divorcerate.org/
3.) http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/betseys/papers/JEP_Marriage_and_Divorce.pdf
4.) http://www.professorshouse.com/Relationships/Marriage-Advice/Articles/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Arranged-Marriages/
Bridget Burke Ravizza wrote the article, “Selling Ourselves on the Marriage Market” and is an assistant professor of religious studies at St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI. After talking with an unnamed group of college students, she discovers that “These college students have grown up in a society in which nearly half of all marriages end in divorce.” She also reveals “they are fearful that their future marriages will go down that path, and some question whether lifelong commitment can—or should—be made at all.” Furthermore, Ravizza finds that “students are bombarded with messages about sexuality and relationships—indeed messages about themselves—that seem to undermine authentic relationships.” Simply put, culture has accepted divorce as a “normal” thing and has already begun to affect the next generations. The surveyed students are so fearful of divorce, they are, in essence, afraid of marriage as well. They even go to the extreme of avoiding divorce by saying they may not get married at all to prevent the “undermining of an authentic relationship.”
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There are many reasons people divorce and there are always very unique circumstances around certain divorces. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census taken in 1992, younger people are marrying for the first time and only about 50-60% of these couples? marriages are surviving. That...
It is my belief that the institution of marriage is a sham, designed by pious Christain fanatics in order to subjugate, control, and furthermore oppress a woman's personal liberties, intellectual freedoms and artistic development. It is also my belief that much in the way of the institution of marriage has not changed since its barbaric origin hundreds of years ago. In light of the enormous rate of divorce, marriage should be banned or at least have greater restrictions placed on the eligibility of matrimonial covenants. Such restrictions would include, but not limited to, communication training, household budgeting classes and psychological counseling for a period of no less than one year. Such matrimonial courses would be designed to make the transition into marriage easier. If marriage has to continue, then let us concede intellectually that the institution of marriage is seriously flawed and deserves a second look at revising some long held principles. It is also my opinion that marriage deserves equal treatment and the same consideration as training for a future profession would. Is it not ironic, that people spend year's attending college or on vocational training in order to prepare themselves for a careers which, will in all likelihood change many times over their lives. I demand that people open their eyes and realize it is just as important to prepare for a successful marriage as it is a successful career. Today, marital classes are not a standard prerequisite to marriage except in a few Christian faith organizations such as Lutheran and Catholic. Something is seriously awry with the institute of marriage when large populations of adults are experiencing one, two even three or more marriages. In this paper, let us explore together whether the sanctity of marriage is actually worthy of being saved. Let us ask ourselves some rather poignant questions. Why it was necessary for the institute of marriage to be established in the first place? What are the benefits of marriage and who benefits from them the most? Lastly, I will try and persuade you to believe the institution of marriage should be permanently dissolved or at least reconfigured.
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