Secret Squirrel has previously commented on divorces,on polygamy, and now Secret Squirrel turns his attention to marriages,marriages sans divorce,short marriages, very short ones, 4,5, or 7 year terms to be decided on,as decided on, and thence allow for renewal of said terms in agreement between the partners in these marriages.And so,in doing so, we will have much more stable relationships,and much more agreeable relationships, and solve the problems, of these messy things, that divorces are.Let us look now at stated proposals of marriage by term contract…………….firstly in and at…………
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article2500361.ece
The Times headline reads………..
How to cure seven-year itch? Limit marriage to seven years
“Marilyn Monroe would have approved. The Seven Year Itch, argues Germany’s most glamorous politician, could be cured by making marriage vows valid for only seven years, thus legislating away what is regarded as the most unstable phase of a relationship.The proposal to turn marriage into a kind of time-share arrangement has shocked Germany. It comes from Gabriele Pauli, who is running to become head of the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party. …………..Her idea would apply only to civil marriages. Vows sworn on the altar, “till death us do part”, would not be amended. Civil marriages would be regarded as a limited seven-year contract. “After that initial period each partner would have to say ‘yes’ again in order to prolong the marriage,” she said. “If they do, there is no reason why marriage should not end up as a lifelong partnership, but in the meantime we will have saved the financial and emotional cost of many divorces.” …..Johann Reisel, head of Catholic marriage counselling in Bavaria, said: “It sounds to me like renewing a mobile phone contract,” he said. “This is just a random number; statistics show that marriages tend to last either three or four years, or significantly longer than seven years.” …………….Although conventional wisdom is that every third marriage in Germany ends in divorce, the reality is worse. By one calculation, 43 per cent of marriages in western Germany (including Bavaria) end in divorce. In 1970, only 15 per cent ended this way…..”
And yet more at on the same contractual marriage period contract at……..
‘Limit marriage to just seven years’ urges twice-divorced politician turned dominatrix
“A seven-year limit should be placed on marriages to ‘avoid financial and emotional heartache’, according to a twice-divorced politician infamous for posing in dominatrix gear.According to Gabriele Pauli, a prominent member of Bavaria’s conservative party, marriages should only be extended after seven years if the couples agree.”The seven year itch often becomes a reality in modern marriages which frequently go through a period of crisis after this time,” said the
50-year-old.”A time limit would enable couples to save the divorce costs and avoid a great deal of heartache,” she added. “It’s time that politicians stopped regarding marriage as a super-intact institution and face the facts.”She argued that,
since a high proportion of marriages end in divorce and many people stay married only for fear of separation or for financial reasons………..”
Well let us consider.The actual divorce rate (the history of divorce is a long one. It has, as French philosopher Voltaire put it, likely been around since the advent of formalized marriage,but in actuality since the 16th century, when Protestants
brought it in) is 50%,this has been seen in America,and now Germany being at 43%, in actual figures.Let use consider now, that the Marriage rate,in any particular given year,is for the USA 9.8/1000,the UK 6.8/1000,and a general average world wide 6.5/1000.The Divorce rate,in any particular given year,is for the USA 4.9/1000,the UK 3.08/1000,and a general average world wide 1.3/1000.
These figures are much more interesting than the percentage of population figures usually presented,for one must take in to account the actual divorces per year, versus the actual marriages per year, to arrive at the proper figure.So,the American divorce rate is actually then 50%,the UK also 50%(on the brighter side Australia is at 33%).The stated average length of marriage in the USA, before divorce, is given at being 8 years.The probability of a first marriage ending in separation or divorce within 5 years is 20 percent, but the probability of a
premarital cohabitation breaking up within 5 years is 49 percent. After 10 years, the probability of a first marriage ending is 33 percent,compared with 62 percent for cohabitations.Divorce is very much a heavy reality.
So to arrive at these divorce figures, we go with the rate of marriages, per 1000 people, and the rate of divorce at 1000 people….and this is provably,for America, a figure of 50%.Obviously there is a great problem here, at 50%. Also there are
a collossal rate of divorces after a second marriage, in short there the figures show that there is an actual 10% success rate of divorces who remarry. With divorce, property and the fiscal side of things are divided up, in some countries per a
legally binding ipso facto marriage contract, a pre nuptual agreement,pre nup as it were, but in others it is a direct 50% regardless, and also may contain such items(in all cases), as child support.
Marriage is a man made social construction anyway, so no real reason for anyone to be shocked by changing the rules.As a matter of fact,biblical marriages abounded with multiple partners,females,polygamy no less, massive polygamy, but allowed within the bounds and conventions of man, of man the thing that was marriage then with man made rules and regulations of it, the institution of,principle of,marriage.
I was perusing the book, Old Twentieth by Joey Haldeman, and one of the more interesting ideas were the formation of 10-year “marriage” contracts between immortal humans. Basically, people who lived forever needed to find a way out of “’till death do us part”.It seemed they realized there was a problem.Recall even Zeus and Hera divorced.Again in Zardoz we see the problem with immortality, as a life sentence of anything, including punishment, is forever as it were, and leads to boredom in the least.However, we suffer from reality, and a shorter lifespan, but it seems we also cannot cope with the death do us part concept.
But what of a marriage contract,as it were, say You agree to marry someone, with a base contract of 4 years?After 7 years,(or 4, or 5, depending on the decided period of time), you can either choose to renew your marriage or part amicably, with whatever you brought into the partnership, and an equal division of anything generated during the partnership’s 7 year-term (business, residence, loans, etc.),any children so had in the relationship or out of it, being decided by amicable
pre nup agreement covering such items as child support,just as it is presently in any given divorce.
There are many advantages to a short agreed upon marriage term……… Here are the 6 best reasons why:
1. Either could always leave,at the end of the termed agreement, so you’ll always value each other in your agreement.
2. You won’t take the relationship for granted – much like life & death,you’ll have to constantly work at it,if you wish to keep, as in renew, the arrangement.
3. You’ll have incentive to work out problems if you each wish to keep it, as in renew it.
4. Divorce, this could be abolished in a say 4-5 year agreed term as it would take that time for a divorce to take,and all things would be covered by the legally binding agreement as set by legal sociologically accepted conventions,the legally
binding document be what ever it may be. hold(4-5 being advantageous compared with say the 7 year plan).
5. Forever is a long time… a REALLY long time, but if you’re committed to someone, why not recommit your vows to them after
4 years,after 5 years,after 7 years.After 20 years, you’ll have committed to them as many as 5 times,agreeably so.
6. There’s still a commitment. Whether it’s a day, a month, a year, or the rest of your life, you’re committed to someone, so setting a limit to it doesn’t cheapen it; it makes the commitment have definition and scope,and with renewals,as
much of a commitment either of you, or both, want.
So there we have it, a cure for the many messy divorces,messy lives, by the legal institution of marriage, marriage by contract, marriage by termed contract,by renewable termed contract,perhaps the better new wave of the future.
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