Is this the end of traditional marriages?

Professor Manous
November 03, 2013
Is This The End of Traditional Marriages? Marriage is a fear for some men and a fairy tale dream for most women. A marriage is a commitment between two people. Two people who declare their love for one another. Two people who initially share the same realistic goal to be with each other for a lifetime, without any doubts. In the reading, “Could Temporary Marriages Reduce the Alarming Rate of Divorce?” by Natalie Rivera explains the idea that temporary marriages can be the ideal matter for some people who do not want to be committed. However, Rivera does not believe in this herself, she believes temporary marriages are not to take into account as a “traditional marriage” because it overwhelms everything about it being traditional. In today’s age group there is nothing traditional about marriage, this generation we live in has changed the meaning of what “traditional” is it’s no longer a realistic goal for most people in this day and age; it’s not what our society is following up with.

A traditional marriage (in my point of view) is marrying your significant other, living together after marriage and starting a family while being in a monogamous commitment with each other. Every couple who decides to” take it to the next step” by getting married have the ideal purpose to be with their spouse for a lifetime just as their vows said, “until death do us part”. Nowadays, traditional isn’t necessarily what this generation is pursuing. Some of today’s teenagers have changed the cycle of what traditional marriage should be. For example, several of today’s teenagers decide to have a child first. The father of the child might be pressured to get married with the mother, whom eventually they decided as a couple to divorce. Why? Their relationship did not meet their expectations or they were facing too many problems; as a result of this a higher divorce rate.

The society around us transforms the culture we live in; marriage happens to fall into that category. Many people who begin a relationship don’t worry about being monogamous because to them it might not be a concern when they have a deep emotional romantic connection. They don’t believe they are capable of being unfaithful because they love their other half. But as the years pass by, some partners lose their feelings and change their initial way of thinking. This is where the problems begin; infidelity becomes present in most relationships. They might try going to couples therapy to fix their problems, however few will be able to make that change. For the other couples, divorce might be the only resolution. Just as Rivera explains in her reading, the divorce rate in the United States is higher while in Mexico the divorce rate is not comparable. The reason being for that is because Mexico City there is a “temporary marriage licenses” with the minimum of two years. Could the concept of temporary marriages be the answer couples seek out? Or is this a trouble-free method couple’s lean to? This is another example of this generation changing the definition of what traditional should be. When entering a new relationship we all know communication and honesty is per say an obligation, of course if you want a long term and healthy relationship. These days seems like immature adolescents are more likely to married rather than mature couples. If an immature couple decides to join as one and married and have lack of communication how would they be able to have a stable, happy and successful marriage? If the couple can’t communicate on a regular basis it can turn their relationship bitter; ending in a divorce. Or, if there is lack of honesty, keeping secrets from your spouse and lying, well it can potentially sabotage a relationship. For example, my aunt married at the age of 18 with a man who she knew for less than one year. She said both of them married young and immature. Her marriage only lasted one year; she said it was the worst marriage because they didn’t have any communication, nothing in common and they both lied to each other by being unfaithful. This is another example of divorce and another reason why this society changes the point of view of people.

The ending of traditional marriages is because the rises of divorce and it’s also because the society and generation we are growing up has revolutionize into something that has slowly vanished. The definition of traditional; “relating to or based on tradition”. How do we lie to ourselves by saying traditional still is present when we have this new culture that has damage what traditional means. For example, temporary marriages, how does that compete with tradition, it doesn’t. It overcomes the principle of traditional marriage. Many couples will see their marriage as traditional while others are more open to define the new tradition. Tough, society changes day by day and defines a new age it is no longer a realistic goal for most people nowadays. Tradition is not what society is engaging in our time.