marriage
"Marriage may be compared to a cage: the birds outside despair to get in and those withindespair to get out."-Michel De MontaigneThe question that stands before us today is as follows, "is marriage a viable institution in the twenty-first century." The answer to this question is an unwavering yes. Marriage has never ceased to be a viable institution. What has changed is the way that people look at this tradition. The Webster's dictionary defines a viable institution as, "workable, and likely to survive or to have real meaning." I think that it is obvious that the institution of marriage has more than survived the test of time, it is a practice that dates back to the beginning of time and will continue to be practiced long after all of us are gone. It also is a custom that has deep significance; unfortunately the meaning has seemed to become lost over the years. People have lost focus on the real meaning of marriage and look at it more today as a contract than an institution. As a vast generalization, people have come to take marriage less seriously, seeing it as a short-term commitment rather than the life long bond that it is. Entering in and out of marriage on a whim, we are no longer trying to make things work in
Only 56 percent of baby boomers felt the same way when asked the same question 20 years ago. " She goes on to say, "Furthermore, men and women who are married earn more money than their unmarried counterparts of any category and advance more quickly in their jobs. Being committed to marriage as a societal anchor means taking the time and getting your hands dirty with the pain of marital strife. Homosexual couples seek out marriage for the same reasons as straight couples. We need to move in a different direction from the way we currently view marriage and divorce. One reason I think that people have lost their enthusiasum toward marriage is the lack of change in the custom itself. It is time to start holding people responsible for their actions; we need to make it clear to our youth that marriage is a sacred union not to be taken lightly. I feel that no one person or even group of people is qualified to attest if one family structure is more valid than another. Some blame practices like the nations no-fault divorce policies, while others place the blame on a loss in morals and family values; furthermore I feel that the lack of change in the marital law itself is somewhat to blame. Divorce should be the problem and not the solution. Most gay couples want their love to be publicly acknowledged, and they want to be part of the social compact of marriage. Despite the rise in cohabitation, divorce and unwed parenthood, marriage still remains a core value and aspiration of most people, proving once again that even today it is still a viable institution. It seems that the days of The Brady Bunch and The Cosby show are gone, and instead we are embracing an era of Sex in the City.
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Acceptance Essays
