Ben and Alexis Jackson, both Eastern Washington University graduate students, are mixing in a common faith and friendship. The English major and math major recently celebrated their first anniversary at the end of finals week with a quiet dinner at a nice restaurant. With just a year to their credit, the Jacksons will need a lot more than the Coopers or the Headleys to make their marriage last a lifetime. Older generations had an entire culture holding their relationships together, including church, government, the economy, family and friends. These days American newlyweds stand a 50 percent chance of staying together until one of them dies, sociologists predict.
Divorce is a cultural mainstay.
The marriages that do survive are weaker by every measure. It was held together by family pressures and religion and economic survival. All those things are pretty much out of the picture. Today, most marriages are based solely on the feelings the couple has for each other. So it's a dicey gambit to base a lifetime relationship on something like feelings.