Marriage

The definition of marriage has evolved greatly over the years. While it once was considered something to be help sacred and kept no matter what, nowadays it is looser and less restricting. People marry for love more often than for obligation now, and if that love runs out people have accepted that it is ok to go find a new happiness elsewhere. This can be seen in the increasing rates of divorce and then second marriages after divorce. Over the next fifty years, I see these numbers staying the same, because people have come to terms with the fact that no one’s perfect but we all deserve happiness in our lives. If a relationship that began with love is now bringing frustration or sadness, it has become okay to leave the sadness in search of a new happiness, and I don’t see people developing a diversion to searching for happiness. A more significant change in marriage that I see happening hopefully sooner than in 50 years is the widespread acceptance and acknowledgment of same sex marriage. Not civil union, not partnership- nothing short of true, pure, equal marriage that heterosexual couples have had access to since the dawn of time. I believe our values and culture is changing, slowly but surely, and soon will no longer see any justice in denying this right to our peers. Hopefully we will all see that this is just an extension of our developing search for lifelong happiness.