While divorce rates in the United States have plummeted from their early-1980s highs, fewer people are choosing to marry in the first place, and fewer people are finding partners or living with them. As of 2021, about 25 percent of 40-year-old Americans were not married — the highest percentage ever recorded.
That's a major shift — for our culture, our politics, even for how (and where) we live — that raises a bunch of interesting and important questions: Why aren't more people marrying? What would need to happen to get more people to marry? And most important, why marry at all?
Brad Wilcox is a professor of sociology and the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. His new book, "Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization," argues that (heterosexual) marriage should be a national priority, one that deserves support from lawmakers and everyday Americans alike. But it also argues that the myths around marriage — like the idea of a "soul mate" or even worries about what a bad marriage could do to potential children — are getting in our way.
"I think having a more realistic understanding of the way that love and marriage tend to work out for most of us would be helpful in reducing the expectations and making people more realistic about it," he said in our conversation.
For my latest interview in a series exploring conservatism and the conservative movement, I spoke with Wilcox about marriage, family formation and what the government should (and shouldn't) do to get more people married.
Read the full interview here:
Continue reading the main storyHere's what we're focusing on today:
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyWe hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.
Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com.
If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.
Continue reading the main story
No comments:
Post a Comment