Why Marriage is the greatest of all Institutions?
Marriages have a very long history. It all started to ensure survival and marrying was the best way to. Women looked after the house and men gathered food and provided protection. It was a team effort to look after children and survive as a family, then. Things have changed now, Women and Men both are capable to run a family alone. It seems that they no longer require someone to support them. In such a case, why do we still Marry?
We intentionally put ourselves in a pact and tie our hands with a single person. We get into a prison called marriage with our own will. We could have just started living with someone without any social announcement, but NO! We announce it, get into a legal pact, depend economically and make it more difficult for ourselves to leave our spouse in the future.
Things have started changing now. Change in the social culture is also enabling people to get their desired (including sexual) fulfilled without being into a marriage. We don’t need anyone to be with us, it’s no longer required. Millennials are in support of this as well. The average age of marriage has risen to 26 for women and 29 for men from 20 and 23 respectively, in the 1960s. I can just start living with my girlfriend and raise children as well. Where is the need to announce my official commitment in this technologically advanced world?
Another way to look at this drift is from the perspective of the value proposition. Women are getting more and more empowered and self-sufficient. They no longer require financial support from their spouse. The age-old value provided by men to women is no longer required and men now have to more understanding, caring, loving and provide something to make women to long for them. On the other hand, men are more in favor of not getting married when compared to women. This is because they don’t want another co-worker but someone to complete their family. This is not a sign towards a better future and answer to this isn’t in the technology but in the philosophy.
99.9% of humans are impulse biased and take decisions without even giving it rational thought. 30% discounts make us buy things we never wanted. Buy 1 Get 1 makes us go for items we can’t afford. Such impulse based decisions are a few examples of how vulnerable we humans are. These don’t cost us much but a few can cost us more significant. Such few are moving away from your partner. It is obvious, natural and proven that humans get bored with their regular partners and easily get tempted for new ones. The desire for new sexual possibilities makes us want to explore new partners. Breakups are common in relationships and that is why we require a well structured organized institution to make it difficult to hop over relationships just like that. Hence, Marriage is the solution. It has its own pros, which outcast the cons by a great number.
Married people are often judged to be more mature and settled in life. Marriages make decisions wiser and help us to think more rationally with a completely new perspective. It restricts us from getting trapped in the short term attractions and provides someone whom we can rely upon for the whole life, at least theoretically. The social announcement makes it an obligation to be in the pact or face the embarrassment while breaking it. Legal structure makes it so difficult that it might cost a fortune to step out of the marriage. All these, together make our stay in a commitment for the much longer term which we might not have been, without marriage.
A complete man is the one with a career, wealth and most importantly a family. ‘Family’ here necessarily means — a spouse and man can be referred to its female counterpart as well. Marriage makes you prestigious in society and separates you from immature freaks. Kids raised by only a single parent are more insecure, arrogant, sensitive and not able to connect to people unlike the ones with both the parents do. The mother provides care and nurtures the young minds, while father provides protection and a sense of security. That’s why they are called parents. As a civilization, reproducing is necessary for the continuation of humanity. Do we just need this much? Obviously not. We need a successful life, enjoy every bit of it and create this planet more beautiful. Marriages provide us with emotional support, social acceptance, sexual satisfaction, family nurture and a partner who’s going to be with us forever.
Economically, a significant rise is also seen in the wealth of married couple than unmarried individuals. While divorce is the worst of the three. Legally, many governmental programs are pro-marriages to be availed by a legally bound couple. Socially, it gets you respect and prestige. And more importantly, personally, it gives you satisfaction, stability and support.
Moving away from such an institution would make the world fall. Fortunately, people are still getting married. Marriages aren’t that bad, after all, they are made for us.
