American Divorce Culture

Divorce has become the norm within the American Culture of this era and research suggests that it cannot be avoided. In the story of “The Making of a Divorce Culture” author Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, claims how divorce rates have drastically increased and has changed the view of the American family. In today’s society marriages are ending in divorce because couples find the easy way out, and choose not to work on their marriage, which can eventually affect their children’s lives. Why has divorce rates increased in the America culture? Barbara Dafoe Whitehead states that, “Americans begin to change their ideas about the individual’s obligations to family and society. Broadly described, this change was away from an ethic of obligations to others
Galston writes an article in 1969 about a conducted American experiment, in Minneapolis, claiming “between 1960 and 1980, the U.S. divorce rate surged by nearly 250 percent. It has since leveled off at a rate that is by far the highest in industrialized world. About half of all marriages undertaken today will end divorce” (Galston 3). Our ancestors and people before us did not believe that in order to fix their marriage they needed to get a divorce. Instead they found solutions to fix their disagreements as oppose to today, couples find the easiest solution and end up with divorce. This has been the result of self-fulfillment needs. Whitehead argues “in the American tradition, the marketplace and the public square have represented the realms of life devoted to the pursuit of individual interest choice, and freedom, while the family has been the real defined by voluntary commitment, duty, and self-sacrifice (Whitehead 225). Many people choose to have their personal needs met, and not have the communication to agree on a solution. Many couples lack communication, commitment, and stability. I have witnessed families’
If more couples where to attempt to resolve their problems instead of getting a divorce, we would be able to grow old and see more stability in relationships. As Whitehead claims, “an elderly couple, married for fifty years, is likely to enjoy a substantial body of social and emotional capital, generated through their long-lasting marriage, which they can draw upon in caring for each other and for themselves as they age” (Whitehead 229). A healthy marriage benefits the couples and your children by growing in a healthy marriage, showing them marriage takes time and effort. “Similarly, children who grow up in stable, two-parent married households are the beneficiaries of the social and emotional capital accumulate over time as a result of an enduring marriage bond. As many parents know, children continue to depend on these resources well into young adulthood” (Whitehead 229). As of today, within twenty to thirty years from now we might not get to see or experience those stories from old couples who have been together for fifty plus years. As for myself I like to believe that I will grow old with my spouse and will be able to share a