Baby Boomers
Often speculated, is the possibility that Western culture is not setting a divorce trend, but rather evolving with modern times. It is true that America is not the only country with divorce rates rapidly on the rise. It is also inevitable that our country changes to adjust to modern times. However, this does not explain the sudden global flop of divorce patterns. Take Japan, for example, which formerly was known as “a land of quick marriage and quick divorce”, led the world in divorce rates prior to World War I (Iwasaki, 1930, p. 435). Then, roughly twenty years after the start of the 19th century, Iwasaki refutes that the United States took the divorce lead and held on since (p. 435). What is remarkable is the ease at which divorce happens in Japan. Japan is one of two countries in the world that acknowledges “free divorce,” in which no legal action is required to disband a marriage (Iwasaki, p. 435). Literally at the drop of a hat, a Japanese marriage can be ended, yet Japan continues to have a low divorce rate. It is also theorized in Western culture that an increasing number of educated, working women attribute to increased divorce rates. Conversely, according to Iwasaki, the very same changes are seen in Japan and have only added to marriage stability (p. 435). It is about time we stopped making justifications for our rampant divorce rates and make a collective effort to become a nation that other cultures will once again envy. If Japan can continue to drop divorce rates under similar circumstances, then so can we.
Returning from World War II, American soldiers rushed home like Olympic sprinters to be once again reunited with their girlfriends and wives. The influx of thousands of American men, all returning home simultaneously after years abroad, resulted in the baby boomer era. The importance of the baby boomers, as depicted by Brown & Lin (2012), is the virtually ignored impact they created on marriages (p. 731). The baby boomers were the first large group of Americans to marry, divorce, and remarry in massive quantities as younger adults (Brown & Lin, p. 731). Divorce statistics on this era are vital because older adults are perceived to have exceptionally better marriages, thus allowing them to be overlooked (Brown & Lin, p. 731). Considering the baby boomers, usually including anyone fifty and older, account for a large portion of our population, it will behoove us to take note of them. As Brown & Lin prove, adults who have previously divorced are at a much greater risk of divorcing a second time (p. 731). With this in mind, it is fair to say that the baby boomers account for the majority of our divorces just out of sheer numbers. Now that an extremely large demographic of our country has been identified as high risk for divorce, we need to urge our fellow citizens to search and identify solutions to this divorce epidemic.
Returning from World War II, American soldiers rushed home like Olympic sprinters to be once again reunited with their girlfriends and wives. The influx of thousands of American men, all returning home simultaneously after years abroad, resulted in the baby boomer era. The importance of the baby boomers, as depicted by Brown & Lin (2012), is the virtually ignored impact they created on marriages (p. 731). The baby boomers were the first large group of Americans to marry, divorce, and remarry in massive quantities as younger adults (Brown & Lin, p. 731). Divorce statistics on this era are vital because older adults are perceived to have exceptionally better marriages, thus allowing them to be overlooked (Brown & Lin, p. 731). Considering the baby boomers, usually including anyone fifty and older, account for a large portion of our population, it will behoove us to take note of them. As Brown & Lin prove, adults who have previously divorced are at a much greater risk of divorcing a second time (p. 731). With this in mind, it is fair to say that the baby boomers account for the majority of our divorces just out of sheer numbers. Now that an extremely large demographic of our country has been identified as high risk for divorce, we need to urge our fellow citizens to search and identify solutions to this divorce epidemic.