Hullabaloo

Thursday, September 04, 2008

 
Teen Marriages

by tristero

from the Times:

Studies show that today teenage marriages are two to three times more likely to end in divorce than are marriages between people 25 years of age and older. The most comprehensive study on marriage and age that sociologists cite was published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2001, from 1995 data, and it found that 48 percent of those who marry before 18 are likely to divorce within 10 years, compared with 24 percent of those who marry after age 25.

“Most young women don’t fare very well when it comes to raising a family as a teenager, and those precious few who get married, the marriages are very short-lived,” said Bill Albert, chief program officer for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “I know and respect a lot of 17-year-olds, but I don’t think any of them are ready to be married and begin the lifelong task of raising a child.”

Census data on teenage marriage, from 1998, showed that only 1 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds had ever been married. But the rates were higher among 18- and 19-year-olds — 6.5 percent for white women, 13.4 percent for Hispanic women — and they vary by region, with higher rates in the South and lower rates in the Northeast. Experts say that teenage marriage tends to be more common in religious and immigrant families, particularly among Hispanics, and more common in so-called red states like Alaska.

Sociologists say that what drives the failure of teenage marriages — and some also say the postwar young marriage boom may have contributed to the divorce explosion of the 1970s — is the complex condition of being an unformed adult.

“They may not know quite what they want in a lifetime partner,” Dr. Popenoe said. “They still often have years of education to complete, as well as getting settled in the work world, and those two things may change their outlook on life considerably.”

The point is this: Teenage marriages are far more likely to fail than marriages between more mature individuals. Usually, education is delayed or terminated as the parents find and hold jobs, especially true when they have children. Therefore, many young women choose to terminate the unwanted pregnancy and continue their education; they defer marriage and children and preserve the potential for a far more productive life for themselves and their family.

Of course, there is no shame attached to choosing to have a baby when you're young. Nor is there any shame for choosing not to.

McCain, like Bush, wants to eliminate our opportunity to have that choice. But that's not all. Despite all evidence that it doesn't work, McCain, in lockstep with Bush and Palin, wants to continue the ludicrous notion of funding sex education that doesn't educate, but only preaches. The three not only want to cut funding for indigent unwed mothers, they actually have cut such funding.

They are ignorant, nasty prigs, ever so eager to preach their divine virtue to the rest of us sinners. Worse, they are greedy, sadistic, ignorant, nasty prigs, ever so eager to make the less advantaged suffer so that they may prosper. If McCain and Palin are permitted to continue the odious Bush legacy, both the number and burdens of poor young mothers will dramatically increase and their options will shrink. Innocent children will die so that Sarah Palin can call herself a pitbull with lipstick* and wealthy white supporters can snort and snuffle their approval.

I have posted many times about the War on Fucking, and have made the point more than once that it really is a class war, a war on the poor and the blue collar workers by elite, rightwing Republicans. Wealthy, well-connected families will always have access to safe reproductive choices including accurate information, effective contraception, and several abortion choices. If McCain is elected, the poor and lower middle class will not. Wealthy, well-connected families will always have ways to support a child who becomes pregnant and chooses to take the pregnancy the term. The poor and lower middle class often do not.

A vote to continue the repellent ideology of Bushism, a vote cast for McCain to extend the hateful policies of the current administration is a vote to repeal Roe and eviscerate necessary social services. A vote for McCain is a vote to continue the class war against the poor and blue collar workers.

The dreadful effects of the class war McCain wishes to continue will be felt primarily by the poor, but it will affect all of us. Except for McCain and his pals, holed up in their multiple homes, safely ensconced behind their gated communities, sneering at the suckers who further enriched them.

*The phrase "pitbull with lipstick" means only one thing. So remember: Palin compared herself to a violent bitch, not Democrats, liberals, or progressives.

tristero 9/04/2008 06:30:00 AM |