Marriage

[Midnight]

I'm sure many of you have heard about the divorce rate for marriages being about 50% in the US. That got me thinking... What makes a marriage work? Can any two people, no matter how different or alike, stay together if they really tried? And also, what are your thoughts when you hear this statistic? Does it make sense? Shock you?

Let me know your thoughts. I'm interested on hearing them.

[Decepticon]

[Whatsername]

<3

[Manda Robertson]

^^^^^^^*WIN*^^^^^^^^^^

[Michelle]

Yes.

[Gabrielle]

I love how his name is "The Impressive Clergyman" in the credits, too.

[Samantha]

: D

[The Wizard of Aud]

And wuv....twoo wuv...

XD

[Shawn O'Malley (TMBG)]

thank you

[El Chupacabra]

i think if two people are drastically different, the only way for them to stay together is to completely ignore everything they disagree on and pretend like it's not there. but it IS still there, and it WILL be a problem. it's stupid to operate that way.

it is sad to hear that statistic. it tells me either people are just jumping into things too soon, or they just aren't patient enough with their mates.

[Sara NoH]

I think people buy the propaganda about "true love" and "soulmates" and think that one day they'll meet that magical person who will make their heart go zing and the heavens will open up and every day henceforth shall be sunshiney and perfect. In reality, there are no perfect people, you can't change anyone no matter how much you love them, you're gonna fight with your mate. I do believe in love but I think it's like super-duper friendship with a physical attraction.


Oh, and what kind of women do guys date before me? They seem to feel like they need a Woman to English dictionary. Seriously, "I'm fine" does not mean "I'm really angry with you and feel like you should somehow magically know what you did wrong."

[Decepticon]

Srsly though, guys.

These statistics are stupid.

You know why there's more divorces now than there used to be?

Pro-tip: It's not because people are rushing things (though they do). It's not because the nuclear family is breaking down. It's not because of immorality, it's not because of a lack of sanctity, it's not because of any of the terrible things that people like to blame it on.

It's because it's an option.

Let's rewind a little bit. It wasn't that long ago that women were property. It wasn't that long ago that divorcees were ostracized from their communities. It wasn't that long ago that being in a bad marriage, meant that you simply had to suffer through it.

Go ahead and ask your grandparents how viable a divorce would have been back in their day. Chances are you won't get a straight answer--but even if you don't, you'll get a good dose of insight into how things worked back then.

People aren't wired to stick with one person for seventy years. We aren't parrots. We don't mate for life. Instinctually we seek to find multiple partners throughout our life to help ensure the passing of our genes. Marriage was created as an institution so that men could enslave women for sexual reproduction and ensure the passing of their genes to the next generation. Life long partnership was never something humans were designed for.

It is, in no way surprising, to find that this artificial construct designed with anything but pure intentions, finds itself falling apart when people are given the choice to ignore it.

You want a compelling argument? Tell me how many marriages in the 1900s were happy ones for both partners. I'm guessing under 50%.

[Brittney]

Well. Parrots don't really mate for life. People say that cockatiels do, and sure, Zinga and Jax were a cute couple for a while. Then they made some babies. Then their babies grew up. Jax still gets it on with Zinga, and she's still his number one, but he has his daughters on the side, too.