The Pros of Both Living Together and being Married
The rate of unmarried individuals in the United States has been on a steady rise for the last thirty years. There are actually a wide variety of reasons for these numbers. The most prominent, however, is that of a drastic drop in moral values in the general citizenship. There was a time in the United States that the concept of living with someone without being married or giving birth out of wedlock was considered deplorable. Today, though, the moral standards have almost completely bottomed out, leaving us with some disturbing statistics. One example of those statistics is a current eleven million individuals in the United States alone that are living with a mate. These numbers consist of both homosexual and heterosexual relationships. Why has the sanctity of marriage become so compromised in the new millennium? What has happened to the moral foundation that this country was built upon? Perhaps we can answer these questions to some extent by taking a look at the pros and cons of being an American single today.
Let us talk about the aspect of the long-term relationship. Being single allows you the leisure of leaving whenever you want, regardless of the situation. There are no ties that bind, not metaphorical ball and chain, so to speak. If it doesn’t work out, then all you have to do is pack your things and walk out the door. There will be no alimony and no looking back. That pretty well sums up the pros to being an American single living with your mate.
Marriage, on the other hand, is a statement. It is basically you saying to your partner that you love them so much that you are willing to gamble the rest of your life on your relationship. It is a statement that you have no doubt that this person is the one that you will spend eternity with. Being single and living together is only a statement that you are not positive of your relationship.
Another aspect that makes the individual turn more towards the marriage end of the spectrum is that of children. Though you can raise a child out of wedlock, even in a world where unmarried couples is not unusual, this still leaves an opening for a child to be ridiculed. Children, particularly young ones, can be quite cruel. If one child was to find out that another’s parents were living together out of wedlock, this information will inevitably become an effective weapon.
Then there is the aspect of morals in reference to the child. Every parent wants his or her child to grow up, find the love of his or her life, and get married. Raising a child while simply living together, unwed, is nothing short of telling the child that it is not only okay, but also preferable to marriage. You can attempt to utilize the old, “Do as I say, not as I do,” method, but this rarely, if ever, works. Children learn by example and you and your mate are the most effective examples possible. If you are an American single living with someone, then the odds are that your child will be an American single living out of wedlock.
In conclusion, it appears that being a married couple holds far more pros than being an American single couple. We will leave you with this. Though the obvious points make it clear that being married is more favorable than living with someone, do not ever rush into marriage. Take your time. Get to know your potential husband or wife. Date for a year or two first. If this person truly loves you, they will be willing to invest at least this much time into making the relationship work.