Table for One
As I searched relentlessly through the Room for Debate articles, I wanted to find a topic that I could relate too. Scrolling down each page, I was hoping to have one jump off the screen and smack me right in the face. I feel I do some of my best writing when it comes from a place I have walked through before. When “What it Means To Be Single” popped up, I found myself yelling internally, Hey that’s me! Finally, a topic I knew all too well. Being single in 2015, means that you are not necessarily seated alone at your table for one.
Across the United States there are many more singles roaming the streets than ever before. Many people don’t find the idea of marriage as appealing as it may have been years ago. Jon Birger, a journalist and contributor for fortune magazine, explains this in his article how “For the College Educated, There Is a Man Deficit”. Having always believed this myself, it was nice to read how it is actually factual.
Jon discusses how women who graduated from college basically have a hard time finding a man with the same education. Also, how the men who are college graduates, hold out on settling down. Clearly this can create an issue if you are seeking an intellectual partner. Women tend to want to settle down after college. If the men that they consider to be there match are holding out, then the women will have to start considering what qualities are most important in a match.
W. Bradford Wilcox, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of “For Richer, for Poorer”, explains to us how marriage is still held as the highest form of a relationship. According to him, married couples are happier in their relationships. Being monogamous, sharing banking accounts, somehow gives married couples an advantage over couples who chose a relationship without a marriage certificate.
However, I feel that these things that W. Bradford Wilcox believes bond a couple together, can also be the downfall of a relationship. Unfortunately, couples may cheat on one another or one may be spending way too much money from their joint account, both can cause major strains on a marriage. Being the product of a divorce, which resulted from cheating, has definitely made me more skeptical about marriage. My mother has always told me to have my own bank account even in a marriage. Her reasoning is that if anything should happen to go wrong, then your money would be safe. I believe W. Bradford Wilcox idea of what makes a marriage strong would look great through rose colored glasses. But times have changed and one has to be more realistic and less dreamy when it comes to such a commitment.
Melynda Price is a professor of law and the director of African-American and African Studies at the University of Kentucky. She feels that we should be able to create our own relationships. She explains how the ideals of marriage can be placed in relationships without having to sign a piece of paper. Everyone loves the fantasy that getting married portrays. But who is to say that you can’t share the same standard that marriage represents without the legal recognition?
Showing us in percentages how marriages have decreased from 72 percent in 2010 from 1960 is Lisa Neident, a data scientist. One reason for this decline is many more Americans are choosing to remain single. She goes on to say how the divorced and separated population has tripled. People are choosing to be independent over settling into another relationship. I feel that this analysis shows how people no longer feel like marriage is the ultimate goal in a relationship. Having seen so many failed marriages or being the product of one, has affected people’s views on this once cherished achievement.
Having been divorced twice, Vicki Larson co-author of the “The New I Do”, asks if “until death” is still realistic these days? Many people are suffering in these lifeless marriages out of fear. It seems as if once the children are gone, these couples are surveying the marriage and deciding that there is nothing else to keep them together. This provides both man and woman with a freeing sensation. Being able to live the rest of their days how they want too without any obligations or having to answer to someone.
Whether one choses to be single forever or marry because they found the “one”, it seems both are still in a state of evolution. . These five journalists bring to light many of the pros and cons of both decisions. But it all comes down to the individual and what choices are right for him or her.
As I searched relentlessly through the Room for Debate articles, I wanted to find a topic that I could relate too. Scrolling down each page, I was hoping to have one jump off the screen and smack me right in the face. I feel I do some of my best writing when it comes from a place I have walked through before. When “What it Means To Be Single” popped up, I found myself yelling internally, Hey that’s me! Finally, a topic I knew all too well. Being single in 2015, means that you are not necessarily seated alone at your table for one.
Across the United States there are many more singles roaming the streets than ever before. Many people don’t find the idea of marriage as appealing as it may have been years ago. Jon Birger, a journalist and contributor for fortune magazine, explains this in his article how “For the College Educated, There Is a Man Deficit”. Having always believed this myself, it was nice to read how it is actually factual.
Jon discusses how women who graduated from college basically have a hard time finding a man with the same education. Also, how the men who are college graduates, hold out on settling down. Clearly this can create an issue if you are seeking an intellectual partner. Women tend to want to settle down after college. If the men that they consider to be there match are holding out, then the women will have to start considering what qualities are most important in a match.
W. Bradford Wilcox, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of “For Richer, for Poorer”, explains to us how marriage is still held as the highest form of a relationship. According to him, married couples are happier in their relationships. Being monogamous, sharing banking accounts, somehow gives married couples an advantage over couples who chose a relationship without a marriage certificate.
However, I feel that these things that W. Bradford Wilcox believes bond a couple together, can also be the downfall of a relationship. Unfortunately, couples may cheat on one another or one may be spending way too much money from their joint account, both can cause major strains on a marriage. Being the product of a divorce, which resulted from cheating, has definitely made me more skeptical about marriage. My mother has always told me to have my own bank account even in a marriage. Her reasoning is that if anything should happen to go wrong, then your money would be safe. I believe W. Bradford Wilcox idea of what makes a marriage strong would look great through rose colored glasses. But times have changed and one has to be more realistic and less dreamy when it comes to such a commitment.
Melynda Price is a professor of law and the director of African-American and African Studies at the University of Kentucky. She feels that we should be able to create our own relationships. She explains how the ideals of marriage can be placed in relationships without having to sign a piece of paper. Everyone loves the fantasy that getting married portrays. But who is to say that you can’t share the same standard that marriage represents without the legal recognition?
Showing us in percentages how marriages have decreased from 72 percent in 2010 from 1960 is Lisa Neident, a data scientist. One reason for this decline is many more Americans are choosing to remain single. She goes on to say how the divorced and separated population has tripled. People are choosing to be independent over settling into another relationship. I feel that this analysis shows how people no longer feel like marriage is the ultimate goal in a relationship. Having seen so many failed marriages or being the product of one, has affected people’s views on this once cherished achievement.
Having been divorced twice, Vicki Larson co-author of the “The New I Do”, asks if “until death” is still realistic these days? Many people are suffering in these lifeless marriages out of fear. It seems as if once the children are gone, these couples are surveying the marriage and deciding that there is nothing else to keep them together. This provides both man and woman with a freeing sensation. Being able to live the rest of their days how they want too without any obligations or having to answer to someone.
Whether one choses to be single forever or marry because they found the “one”, it seems both are still in a state of evolution. . These five journalists bring to light many of the pros and cons of both decisions. But it all comes down to the individual and what choices are right for him or her.