Relationships Part II

II.

Increased mobility in society means your neighbors, coworkers, and classmates are more likely to come from out-of-town. And globalization means they are much more likely to be foreigners than at any other time in U.S. history. It used to be that most Americans lived in towns, either in a "company town", where the population is based around a certain industry or single large business, or in small agricultural hubs, with surrounding farms and smaller "villages". The economy has shifted to such a degree that these age-old community models are no longer the norm. Suburbs, as we are all aware, have taken over. Suburbs ring the many large and mid-size U.S. cities, with employment nearby or in the city center. I'm not going to trace all of the varying issues associated with causing these changes, but I think it is obvious that the answer lies not simply with changing mores and morals - as if, for instance, harboring good "family values" would make the difference and cause everyone to return to our agrarian roots. Rather, you can sum it all up with one word - the economy. Economic changes are at the root, as they have been for centuries. The structure of society, including class, government, and the social hierarchy, tend to reflect the state of the economy.

The most salient shift in the realm of relationships that our country has seen is the rocketing divorce rate. A National Center for Health Statistics study found that 43 percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years. "About 50% of first marriages for men under age 45 may end in divorce, and between 44 and 52% of women's first marriages may end in divorce for these age groups." Ironically or not, this decade has seen a nationwide push to legalize gay marriage - ironic because as one group is pushing to be allowed to marry, the majority are getting divorced at astronomical rates. Needless to say, the U.S. divorce rate dwarfs that of the rest of the world.

But while the 50 percent rate is well-known, less understood are the causes. Between 1950 and 1975 - one generation - divorce in America went from the rarity to commonplace, and what is the nature of the reasons behind it? That is an important question, probably a complex one, but a question not often enough asked, in my opinion.

I grew up in a divorced family. My parents separated when I was 9, my sister 12. Following a legal fight over custody of us, my father remarried, my mother did not. He and his wife had a son in 1992.

In an entire nation of split families, what are the longterm consequences? On children? On society as a whole? On mores, on our collective morality? I'm sure there have been attempts at researching it, but it would be a longitudinal study and because it is a relatively recent phenomenon so the results would only now be coming in.

to be continued

-d.g.w. 4/21/07 (see Pt. I below)