Divorce Essay

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Whatever happened to the picture that perfect traditional families portrayed?

Television has had such an influence over us when we begin wishing we had families like

the ones we see on Little House on the Prairie and The Brady Bunch. Families who work

together, support one another, and seem to have all of life’s problems figured out. The

media is catching up to society and showing more single-family sitcoms with down to earth

family relationships such as Blossom, Sinbad and Married with Children. These types of

families show the nuclear family of today. They experience day to day worries and concerns

with the reality that everything is not always so perfect in the real world. There have been

many changes in American families since the 1950’s. We are seeing more women in the

work force, family values changing, and more divorces leading to the rise of single parent

households. This is putting the American home downhill. Divorce seems to be a problem

solving solution that many families are taking into consideration; statistics show that it has

left half of all families fatherless. The United States has the highest divorce rate in the world.

Marriage is no longer taken for its life long commitment; most couples get into a marriage

wanting the best out of it. Unfortunately, people are getting married without thinking of the

responsibilities that come with marriage. What is happening to the meaning of a family?

Where are we taking it and why aren’t we doing much about it? A family is suppose to be

the love and support of both a mother and father for their children. There is not much time

spent at home building new bonds and expressing the love. Instead, Americans have

become more of individuals and have left the importance of a family-oriented-household out

in the dark. Their priorities are viewed more towards personal happiness and

achievements. There is much more to divorce than just family matters. With the working

women moving up in the business world, their dependence on financial support has been

reduced. Women are more confident that they can survive alone without the support of a

man; so as it turns out, they find it easier to turn to divorce. Do we really have an

understanding on what the phenomenon of divorce is?

Divorce is often considered to be a problem between two adults, and nothing more

than that. Since the children have an attachment to both the parents, it is not surprising to

know that here is a higher percentage in which the mother gets custody of the children -the

increase has been of three million. The most recent increase in divorce has been among

younger couples, but the ones that leave the greater impact are divorces which are tearing

the family apart.

The number of children affected by such divorces have just tripled and is increasing by

the year. Why is divorce giving the children the hardest hit? Children are taught, whether

at home or on the playgrounds of our schools, that a household consists of a “mommy”,

“daddy”, baby, and maybe even a pet. There is much hostility felt by the children when a

divorce occurs; poverty and stress are also other problems. Not all families are well-off to

make it alone. This makes it difficult for a child while growing up. When there is a divorce

in the family, it tears in half the perfect family portrait. The fact that the majority of the

children live with mother when a divorce has occurred has left the importance that a father’s

absence means more than tears can express.

Divorce can be viewed in different ways with its different perspectives; for example, a

functionalism would discourage divorce. They view that divorce is a rapid change in

society. Functionalism are not too happy with change. They see this issue from the macro

perspective and judge that divorce is bad. A functionalism would look at the social

information and ask, “Why?” Why does divorce occur? Since functionalism look at the

group instead of the individual, they would blame that social institutions are failing. They

would include that the institutions are not doing their part in instructing; therefore, society

is falling apart. They argue that society should encourage couples to conform; to unite.

They would encourage parents to plan family outings with activities that can bring a sense

of togetherness and communication within the group. They believe that conformity would

promote a cohesion and would strongly support the traditional family. They will back up

the traditional family values and norms and add that we need to go back to the way things

use to be. To conclude, functionalism believe we have fewer divorces when we conform.

A conflict theorist would also frown against divorce, but would destroy the traditional

family. They want to start all over again. They look at the big picture and answer, “Why?”

Why are divorces happening and who is benefiting from them? They try to raise people’s

conscience and make them aware of what is really going on. There are several expenses in

processing a divorce; for example, court costs, child support, attorneys, sometime counseling

and the divorce itself. Not to mention, the government’s profit from taxes. When a family

splits, they are no longer one; they are now two different cases. A conflict theorist would

make a couple think of who really is benefiting from the divorce, the couple or the agencies?

They would argue that society is to blame for such misconduct. We are influenced to...

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