Marriage has its ups and downs

         In these essays about marriage, I gathered some ideas to be accurate and others to be far fetched. The writer of “Marriage Crisis”, Aja Gabel, states, “while marriage is in decline, unmarried cohabitation is on the rise”. From experience, I agree with this writer. I’ve witnessed friends from high school, as well as myself, undergo cohabitation prior to the discussion of marriage. Compatibility and coexisting moved to the forefront, instead of jumping into a legal life-long commitment.

         I do feel marriage in alive in America, but I don’t think it has the same gravitation as it did before my time. Marriage, to me, used to have this grandiose meaning of sanctity and love. Looking at my generation, I would say it is lacking in such luster. The glamour of marriage has dampened due to the dramatic rise in divorce. We, as a society of a younger generation, bare witness to many unsuccessful marriages, and as a result find it less appealing.

         Couples don’t have to have a marriage license in order to have a family. This could be why cohabitation is growing more popular. Sadly and slowly, marriage seems to becoming an old fad. With more men and women choosing to skip matrimony, the gesture to marry gets weakened. Which in turn, leaves marriage to wither away at society’s feet.

         Now, it’s to the point where this tradition is being made a mockery, in Mexico, by allowing couples to obtain a short-term marriage license.  I found this to be absurd. In my eyes, this violates the very essence of marriage. Why chose to marry in the first place, if only for a determined amount time? To find a partner that you truly love, and want to be with forever is difficult, but to change the constitution of marriage just so couples can “rent-a-marriage” is down right ridiculous.

         Offensive as this may be to me, others can be quick to counter with a disagreement.  It is none of my business to what others do with their lives, but stepping on tradition’s toes in unjustifiable. A temporary marriage shouldn’t be issued from my perspective. If couples are willing to take the leap, then until death they part. 

         To stray back from the morbid side of marriage, those who commit should do so on the right terms. Marry for love and happiness, not for status and power. Divorce perhaps is on the rise, but only because marriage is not being taken seriously. It is a privilege to marry your “better half”, but it doesn’t always have to end in tying the knot. Cohabitation might just be the marriage before the marriage, if they do so intend.