There is a new book out that looks at how marriage is progressing in America. And guess what, it's going pretty well. Salon interviewed the author and here is some of what she had to say:
What you think about the state of the American marriage is wrong: Half of marriages don’t end in divorce; married people don’t have less sex than their single counterparts and — surprise! — fighting can actually be beneficial to your relationship.
The book also analyzes divorce statistics.
Couples married in the 1970s have a 30-year divorce rate of about 47 percent. A person who got married in the 1970s had a completely different upbringing and experience in life from someone who got married in the 1990s. It's been very clear that divorce rates peaked in the 1970s and has been going down ever since.
All you young married people who fear you're going to end up like your parents. Stop worrying. Apparently, the 70's were just a lousy time for everyone. (Disco, President Carter, Oil Embargo, Bell Bottoms) It's a surprise anyone survived that miserable decade.
And the last point in the article, which I love:
This whole idea of personal fulfillment in marriage is relatively new, and it has certainly gummed up the works. Marriage is a lot more high maintenance when you've married your "soul mate."
Ha! I don't really have a point here. I just think this an interesting look at how marriage has developed over the last 30 years. It appears that people married in the 80's and 90's have a more realistic expectation of marriage and are staying together longer than those folks married in the 70's. I have no idea why that is, but I find it fascinating.
Wait, so you mean to tell me that we aren’t on a slip-N-slide to hell in a handbasket, and that our families aren’t crumbling before our very eyes? Perhaps, then, certain people are trying to trick us into thinking that… nah. Stupid statistical analyses must be wrong
I used to read this blog, but now, after realizing you only let in the positive comments, I simply can’t respect it anymore. grow a backbone.
I accept negative comments. But they have to be well written, and they have to move the conversation along. I do not accept poorly written comments that just tell me to get a life. Or comments that rehash something we’ve argued about before. I realize to some people it’s all new, but after five years, I’m simply not interested in having the same battles over and over again.
Catalyst has a life.
The rest of us got married.
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Only the positive comments? This blog is filled with negative comments…from all sides.
I wonder if this author included cohabiting couples and considered them.