People don't teach marriage anymore. I know, I sound crazy, but hear me out. Society doesn't like marriages. Society likes weddings, because they're expensive. And they like divorces, because they're often loud, ugly and full of alimoney paperwork, and there's nothing society likes quite like entertainment value.
Marriage isn't just an act of love, it's a lifestyle. It's typically a lifestyle you only consider if A) You're really religeous. B) Your parents are happily married and have set a good example or C) You've actually met somebody that you believe to be your soul mate. If it's any combination of the three, you're probably going to get married at some point in your life. If it's one or none, then you might not care.
Children are taught to lead by example, taught to learn from their life experiences and from their parents. If they're parents aren't happy (or whoever is raising them) then they will grow up calloused. If their parents have difficult jobs, they will grow up jaded. If their parents aren't there, they will grow up resentful. Worse than that, they will take ques from their peers, who are equally troubled if not more and meant for camaraderie, not for guidance.
Marriage is a constitution that really only enters your mind if you have living proof, and there are so many people in the past twenty years who have no example of a happy union. Not to say those people don't turn out fine, because the majority of them do. The majority of them go on to have great careers, partners, travels, and some even become parents. Everyone's life is different, and many truly are happy. Some people think that they want to get married until they realize how difficult it is to find someone that you would actually consider spending the rest of your life with, especially if you've had a bad run of relationships. Marriage is not for everyone, but times are so different now that many people don't even consider it a viable option anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I think that as bad as the government and the economy is right now, people themselves have more freedom than ever. They can dress how they want, act how they want, and do whatever they want. Now women can not only vote, but run for political office. A career possibility I had considered if the college degree in political science didn't take ten years or more of my life.
People don't teach marriage to children anymore, they teach them that life includes a checklist of things you have to do before you can consider marriage. A list that usually includes things like "Get good grades, go to college, get good job, pay off student loans, travel, buy house, figure out your hobbies, save up $25,000. THEN find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Because children can only focus on so many things at once, they will focus on the first half of the list and leave the rest for later. Or never.
Not that it's bad to be a child of this generation, after all, I am one. I was told this list by everyone EXCEPT for my parents, who taught me from a very young age that I could be or do whatever I wanted to and they would always be proud of me. And now I live in a world where that's possible. So while I was thought to be crazy by all of my relatives and friend's parents, I could move about freely knowing that whatever choices I made, my parents wouldn't judge me.
So nowadays, you either follow the list, die trying, or go completely off course altogether. The nice thing about society these days is that it does not really matter what you end up doing, it's now politically incorrect to judge anybody. People are told to follow every rule, but also to celebrate their inner freak. How else could we have gotten such people as Lady Gaga? Craziness. People who want to follow the list will, and people who have their own ideas will make their own lists. People that want to get married will, and people who want to play the field will. That's really all there is to it, the only difference nowadays is that people really won't be as judged as they would have previously for doing what they want to. No one is really pressured into doing anything anymore.
America is a free country, as long as people act and vote properly, it can stay that way. It's designed by our forefathers, lived by the people, ran by the government, and protected by our brave service men and women. People risking their lives to protect your freedom to do whatever you would like. The freedom go to college or not, to have a career or build a business, to travel or not, to be married or not. The choice is yours, whether you've been taught our not.
Love,
Alice
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