According to an AP story published today and authored by Hope Yen, a new survey by the Pew Research center reported that 39 percent of Americans say marriage is becoming obsolete. And that sentiment follows U.S. census data released in September that showed marriages hit an all-time low of 52 percent for adults 18 and over. The story goes on to discuss various findings from the survey which demonstrate the erosion of the traditional family model of a man married to a woman who live together to raise children.
Here is my take on the survey and the article: This is not a good thing and we as a society should do everything we can to promote stable, intact, family units, with two parents living together to raise children.
From my perspective as a divorce attorney, I have seen firsthand what happens when parents either can’t work together with each other or won’t make reasonable sacrifices for their spouse and their children. The result is almost always the same: the children get caught in the middle and suffer badly. I don’t think I have every seen or heard of a child whose parents got divorced actually say they were happy about it, or felt better for it—with the very notable exceptions of domestic violence or drug/alcohol addiction cases.
So, I hope the next Pew Research survey update will report that marriages are becoming more relevant again. I think marriages are good for all of us, and they should be encouraged and supported wherever possible.