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Cheyanne Riley
Ms. E. Parrish
English 1010
May 14, 2014
From Beginning to End
Every 36 seconds, someone is filing for divorce in the United States. That turns out
to be nearly 876,000 divorces a year. So whats the problem? Why is that number so high?
Some people think money is the number one problem. Yes, with all the debt people are in
now a days it does cause some marital issues, but that isnt the real problem. The main
problem is society makes marriage seem like a must, and people jump into it too fast. The
other problem is that divorce is too easy to get.
Marriage is a sacred bond between two people which is intended to never be
broken. Although over the years, divorce has become very common. Divorce is the legalized
and final step in ending a marriage. Studies show that between 40% and 50% of marriages
will end in divorce. Here in the United States, people can be married at 16 with a parents
consent and 18 without a parents consent. While being married the couple will take a vow,
till death do us part. This phrase isnt meant to be taken lightly. These couples are vowing
to spend the rest of their lives together in holy matrimony.
Although some people struggle with the understanding of spending the rest of their
lives together. Think about the one and only Kim Kardashian and her ex-husband Kris
Humphries. Their marriage lasted a whopping 72 days. My point is this, both marriage and
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divorce are made too easy to get. Its better to make them more difficult, so that the wrong
decision will never be made in the first place.
Although, most people have the understanding that divorce is a simple fix to a tough
marriage, they should really understand that waiting longer to get married and working
out a tough marriage in therapy is the best solution. I believe we need to make it a more
difficult process to get married so people know its what they really want. Also, we need to
make it tougher to get a divorce because people are just giving up to easy. Divorce is not the
best solution. Therefore, the age restriction for marriage is too young, and should be raised.
46% of divorced couples say they married too young and that was a factor in their divorce.
This evidence proves that marrying too young can be fatal to a marriage and that if the age
restriction was raised, this problem wouldnt be happening.
Divorce rate is at an all-time high, between 40% and 50% of marriages end in
divorce. The average length of a marriage is 8.8 years. Divorce overall is made to be a quick
and easy out, when almost half of all marriages in the United States are failing, that is a sign
that something needs to change. Whether its taking the time before you marry, or taking
the time while youre married to fix things and make it right. Another reason why I believe
divorce should be made more difficult is that some divorced couples end up really
regretting their decision and they end up remarrying. Around 6% of couples remarry the
person they divorced. I know that doesnt sound like a lot, but those 6% regret a huge
mistake that cant be undone, and they went through a lot of unnecessary trouble.
One thing that I think should be required before filing for divorce are a few marriage
counseling classes. Not enough troubled couples are going to therapy or counseling for help
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with their troubled marriage. In a recent study, it was found that 97% of couples who
received some sort of marriage counseling found what they needed and had a great
experience. With the success rate being so high, I think those classes should be required
before making a big mistake. Also, divorce is extremely expensive. It can cost anywhere
from $299- $425 million. Divorce is expensive and insanely inconvenient for everyone
involved. All I ask, is that you take the time to work on the marriage before giving up so
easy and going through such an unnecessary process.
If there are any children involved, it makes the divorce process much more difficult.
Divorce causes a lot of argument and stress on the children, especially young ones. Children
are affected greatly by divorce and it leads to a lot of problems in the future, like trust
issues and many psychological problems. Nobody wants to ruin their childrens idea of love
and cause them problems just because at times the relationship doesnt seem like it will
work.
On the other hand, people are obviously going to argue otherwise. For example,
people may argue that marriage happens much more often than divorce. The marriage rate
is 3.2 times higher than the divorce rate. Marriage does work out great for a lot of people,
but there should be required classes and actions to be taken before marriage to ensure that
is the right decision. Others might also argue that divorce is always the correct thing to do
in cases like abuse and domestic violence. 1 in 4 women are in an abusive relationship, I do
agree that these women and men who are being abused need to get out, but if you would
have taken the time to know someone before marrying them, you might have known they
are abusive.
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Another argument others may have is the fact that once you turn 18, you are an
adult and it is your choice whether to marry someone or not. Just because you are an adult
does not mean you are ready to take on the world, you are still extremely young and that is
not the time to be making such a life-long decision. Im not saying there is much we can do
about that age restriction, but the lowest age you should be able to get married with or
without a parents consent is 18. Also, people say that people should not stay in a terrible
and unhappy marriage just so they arent labeled as divorced. A lot of women and some
men just stay in a marriage because they dont like the negative label of divorced. It
shouldnt be about the label, but divorce is obviously labeled as a negative thing for a
reason. Its not the smart choice and its definitely not the easy choice.
Another argument that is often protested, is that society cares too much about what
others do with their lives. Marriage is a sacred bond between two people, not an entire
society. I agree that marriage is between two people, but when the society is being forced
to pay taxes due to the overwhelming amount of divorces I feel like they have a right to
their opinion. Taxpayers are essentially paying for the bad decisions that others have made.
I dont think that is fair at all, and therefore society has a right to protest divorce and be
involved in the argument.
Although most people have the understanding that divorce is a simple fix to a rough
marriage, they should really understand that waiting until you know the person better to
get married. Working out a tough marriage in therapy is the right thing to do in these cases.
In conclusion, I believe it is too easy now a days to get married and to get a divorce. The
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divorce rate is extremely high, and there seems to be an abundance of young people getting
married before they are surely ready.
This is what needs to happen, people need to take more time before getting married
to be sure its what they really want. Therefore, that will ensure the divorce rate decreases.
We need to raise the age requirements for marriage and make it more difficult to get a
divorce by requiring therapy or marriage counseling. There are ways to make a tough
marriage better and to make it work out in the end. Overall, we as a society need to take the
pressure off and allow people to get married when they are good and ready. Also, divorce
needs to be seen as a last resort option. Divorce is made too easy and its not fair to
taxpayers, children, family, or even the couple. A little hard work goes a long way.












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Works Cited
"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Nov. 2013.
Web. 6 May 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm>.
"Does Marriage Counseling Work? 8 Surprising Statistics & Facts." GuideDoc. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2014.
<http://guidedoc.com/does-marriage-counseling-work-statistics-facts>.
"Kim Kardashian." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 7 May 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Kardashian>.
"Remarrying your ex: Proceed with caution." Chicago Tribune. N.p., 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 7 May 2014.
<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-23/features/sc-fam-1023-divorce-reunite-
20121023_1_divorce-process-couples-relationship>.
"Teen Marriage License Laws, Minors Requirements, by State." Teen Marriage License Laws, Minors
Requirements, by State. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014.
<http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/teen_marriage_l
aws/>.