Divorce is far too easy for people today. I'm not talking about the legalities, but the social acceptance. There's essentially no social price to divorce. Anytime someone in the public sphere tries to make this point, the discussion is steered towards violent spouses, etc.
Well, you know what? Most divorces are caused by a lot less severe suffering.
Research shows that two-thirds of divorces now end low-conflict marriages, where there is no abuse, violence or serious fighting. After those marriages end, the children suddenly struggle with a range of symptoms -- anxiety, depression, problems in school -- that they did not previously have. The waxing and waning cycles of adult unhappiness that characterize many marriages are often not all that obvious to children. For the children of low-conflict marriages, divorce is a massive blow that comes out of nowhere.Marriage is hard, very hard. It's a cliche to say that being a parent is the hardest job a person will ever have, but being a parent is nowhere near as hard as being a spouse. Being a parent is exhausting, sometimes exasperating and occasionally frightening. Being a spouse requires a much bigger commitment, however. A spouse must sacrifice himself/herself as an individual to ensure that the union is strong. It is the only way marriage can work. This is what children need. They need stability and marriage is stability.
This has been obvious for millennia. The importance of marriage has been stupidly thrown away in an orgy of selfishness over the past 4 decades or so.
