Uncomfortable Truths or Overreaction?

The cover story of the July 13, 2009 Time magazine is "Unfaithfully Yours." With the premise that "Infidelity is eroding our most sacred institution," author Caitlin Flanagan considers in her essay, "How to make marriage matter again."

Asking if there is hope for the American marriage, Flanagan discusses the affairs of Governor Mark Sanford and Senator John Ensign in the first 1/4th of the article. The rest of the article is focused on describing the breakdown of the "intact, two-parent family," the effects of divorce on children, the Gosselins' failing marriage, and what America needs to do to make marriage "matter."

Flanagan's answer? "It is time instead to come to terms with both our unrealistic expectations for a happy marriage and our equally unrealistic beliefs about the consequences of walking away from the families we build. The fundamental question we must ask ourselves at the beginning of the century is this: What is the purpose of marriage? ... What we teach about the true meaning of marriage will determine a great deal about our fate."

In a related photo slideshow, photographer Lauren Fleishman looks at couples married for 50 years. Two quotes we liked:

Theauther Love: "Love is sharing with one another. Don't care what you have you share what you have. And be willing to give. Another thing I tell people now is that you have to be able to bend a little bit."

Cathy Pastorino: "With love you have to trust each other. You need good communication."

Read Flanagan's article and let us know your thoughts. We think the purpose of marriage is more than raising kids.

We like what Dennis Weaver wrote about marriage, "By the nature of marriage, because the husband and wife live in such proximity, it is by far life's most critical relationship, and the one that allows us the grandest opportunity to express the purpose of life, which is to love and to be loved."