ALT-36 Worst Reasons to Marry
The institution of marriage has changed over the centuries. Once upon a time, marriages were arranged and people got married not for love but for security. Arranged marriages ensured that women would be protected and provided for, that men would be taken care of and that any children resulting from the marriage would be guaranteed a family.
In the days of arranged marriages, both women and men were raised to believe that marriage was the expected outcome once they reached adulthood. Men were taught the skills necessary to provide for a family, women were taught the skills necessary to care for a family. Many people had their marriages arranged by their parents when they were children and often did not meet their betrothed until they stood next to them at the altar.
Nowadays, of course, things are different. In most cultures, marriages are no longer arranged and people marry because they are in love. Today's society encourages freedom of choice and self-sufficiency and touts that only YOU can decide who and when you will get married.
Despite this, however, many people are *still* raised to believe that marriage is the expected outcome once they reach adulthood. As a result, a number of people (particularly women) grow up with the idea that they will get married- not necessarily because they want to but because they feel they *have* to or are *supposed* to. Then, five to ten years into the marriage the couple suddenly realizes they aren't compatible and ends up divorced. All because the people involved felt they *had to* get married.
The worst reason to get married is because you feel you have to. Thinking this way often causes a person to focus more on the idea of marriage itself and less on the person they are marrying. Couples rush to get married before they have taken the time to really know each other and then a few years later they notice that they actually don't have much in common. Sometimes they decide to have children in an attempt to give them a common bond but of course, that does not usually help and in fact worsens the circumstances once divorce inevitably occurs.
The plain fact is that these days, in most "First World" cultures and societies, no one HAS TO get married, no matter what their parents tell them growing up. The divorce rate could be brought down exponentially if more people would take the time to consider the future of their marriage *before* it happens. Because many times, someone who takes their time going into marriage decides not to get married until they are sure it is what they want.
