“Until death do us part”. Traditionally, that is what is supposed to happen once two people decide they want to get married. Do things always turn out this way? No. Divorces or separations are increasing more and more as time goes on. Is this because these people are not as in love as they thought they were or does it just mean the marriage was rushed?
I think it’s a little of both. There are so many people that get married for the wrong reasons or don’t think things completely through before they make such a huge commitment. Getting married is not like asking someone to be your boyfriend or girlfriend. Yes, they are both commitments, but on entirely different levels.
Getting married to someone means sharing and continuing your life with that person and committing yourself to only him or her forever.
In some ways, it is similar to any boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, except it’s legally binding and not as easy to get out of if you decide you want to go your separate ways.
Mexico took notice of this difference and decided to come up with their own plan of action. According to CNN, Mexican legislator, Leonel Luna wants to make it easier for couples to call it quits if they decide to get married.
He proposed a bill to grant newlywed couples a two-year marriage contract that can either be renewed or put an end to once that time period is up. Luna stated, “Almost 50 percent of couples in Mexico City end up in divorce. What we’re trying to do is acknowledge reality and create a mechanism that will allow couples to end their marriage without going through the additional pain and suffering of a legal battle.”
Many of the Catholic church affiliates in Mexico were enraged by this proposal stating, “Mexico is suffering very serious problems precisely because we’re losing family values. Instead of creating all kinds of comfortable rules for political purposes, legislators should focus on promoting strong marriages and family values.”
Mexico has the second largest Catholic population; therefore, many people in Mexico are opposed to the passing of this bill. However, the probability of this bill being passed is in favor of Luna. There are 66 legislators in Mexico City and 34 of them belong to his party (Democrat). Also, Mexico City is far less conservative than the rest of Mexico being that they have legalized gay marriage. This new marriage bill has only increased Mexico City’s efforts in pushing the controversy envelope.
If this opportunity were available in the U.S. it would be bittersweet. On the one hand it gives couples the chance to test out married life and easily get out if it is an unsatisfactory situation. Yet, it completely contradicts what marriage stands for.
What if divorce wasn’t an option? Here’s a crazy thought-what if you actually had to spend the rest of your life with the person you vowed to spend the rest of your life with? Less people would get married and marriage would be looked at more seriously and as more of a privilege.
I’m not saying that divorce should never be an option; some situations call for it, but the sanctity of marriage needs to be honored more.
Homosexual couples have been fighting for the privilege to get married. Regardless of how much they love each other or how many decades they have been together, the government refuses to grant them this desire. Yet, there are heterosexual couples that don’t even stay married for a year; they divorce and easily marry again.
The vows are “Until death do us part,” not, “In two years I‘ll see how I feel.” No one should enter into a marriage with the mindset that it is possibly going to fail. First off, if there is any doubt in you or your partners’ mind that your marriage may not work out, then you shouldn’t be getting married.
When you ask someone to marry you or you accept a marriage proposal, the intention should be to stay with that person from that point forward.
If two people want to figure out if they could be happily married, they should test that theory out before they actually get married. They should live together, split financial responsibilities and take on marital roles.
Give that a few years, if that works out and they feel as if the situation they are in is the only place they want to be, then get married and continue thriving on that level. Contradicting a lifelong commitment with a two-year contract is not the way to go.
Dominique Barchus can be reached at dominique.barchus@spartans.ut.edu