Marriage: The American Perspective

The current state of marriage in the American society has brought a certain amount of ambivalence to its definition. Perhaps, marriage may be regarded as a social institution, a mutual agreement between two individuals who are committed to maintaining a relationship that holds equality, respect, trust, and complementary support for each other for life.
Indeed, Americans value marriage as an important aspect of their lives. "More people get married in the U.S than anywhere else in the industrial world - at twice the rate of France and Italy." (Buckley). However, the idea and stand point abo…