Till Death Do Us Part
By: Artur • Essay • 1,296 Words • January 10, 2009 • 1,465 Views
Essay title: Till Death Do Us Part
The status quo of marriage in American
society, in some cases, is a moderately
complicated issue. I do know, however, that
before the marriage takes place there is
an interlude called the dating period. In
this dating period the two members of the
couple attempt to get to know one another.
This is the period where many people fall in
love. This is also the period where many
people realize that they are with the wrong
person and have to start over with
someone new. The dating process, which
lasts for a sporadic interval of time, ends
when one person in the couple offers a
marriage proposal to the other. This
agreement to marriage is a sacred bond of
love and trust that proves to one's
significant other that one will enter into an
exclusive relationship with that person until
they are parted by death. If the marriage
proposal is accepted, the couple is
pronounced engaged, or betrothed to one
another, and they set a marriage date.
During the engagement the couple
exchanges rings as a sign of devotion. Once
the wedding date reaches its destination,
the couple then performs the marriage
ceremony, which is a gathering of close
friends and family to witness the marriage.
This ceremony is performed in a church at
the hand of a priest who then pronounces
the marriage as holy matrimony. During the
wedding ceremony there is another
exchange of rings that show a symbol of
the couples undying love for each other.
After the wedding, the couple usually
takes a trip called the honeymoon where
they consummate the marriage by making
love. This process is the norm for how
people are married in American society.
The problem with this system is that most
people enter into the marriage for the
wrong reasons and end up getting a
divorce. A divorce is a legal dissolution of a
marriage contract. The problem with
divorce is that the marriage is supposed to
be a contract that is supposed to last until
someone in the couple dies; only then is the
sacred vow broken. Otherwise, the couple
is going against God's will. Defying God is
not the only detrimental effect, however.
More marriages in the United States end in
divorce than in any other country in the
world, and it can be seen throughout
America's history. There is consensus that
the overall U.S. divorce rate had a brief
spurt after World War II followed by a
decline. It started rising again in the
1960's and even more quickly in the
1970's, but leveled off in the 1980's only
to begin a fluctuating increase that has
lasted to the present. It is said that 40 or
possibly even 50% of marriages will end in
divorce if the current trends