What Happened to Ward and June Cleaver Essay -- essays research papers

What Happened to Ward and June Cleaver? Single parent homes, broken families, and divorce are rampant in today’s society. Marriage is no longer the revered union that it once was. Divorce is clearly on the rise since the days of yesteryear that depicted happy families in the favorable image of Ward and June Cleaver. Unlike the June Cleaver’s of days gone by, the women of today now busily juggle careers, family and household responsibilities, and play the role of â€Å"soccer mom† among many other things. Now that June is swept away with her many responsibilities, together with her earning capacity, reduces her need to rely on Ward ultimately making it easier, and more likely, that their children, Wally and Beaver will become the unfortunate products of a broken home and divorce. Rather than dealing with so many divorces and trying to battle the issue of broken homes from the back end where the damage is irreparable, why not attempt preventative measures instead? According to the Council on Families In America, â€Å"for the average American, the probability that a marriage taking place today will end in divorce or permanent separation is calculated to be a staggering 60% and more than half of divorcing couples have children under the age of 18. The odds that a child today will witness the divorce of their parents, is twice as great as a generation ago, with as many as half of all children likely to experience a parental divorce before they leave home.† Many states, now concerned with the rise in numbers of broken homes and divorce rates, have decided to take measures to reduce this epidemic by implementing mandatory waiting periods when obtaining a marriage license, and mandating programs and educational seminars similar to post-divorce programs now enforced by almost every court systems across the nation. The controversy, however, lies in the argument from critics that restricting couples from marriage or imposing fines or penalties is unjust. Jennifer Daw, a therapist with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy quoted an article from USA Today wherein opponents argued that, â€Å"divorce regulations or restrictions would create messier divorces, not prevent them and tougher restrictions on divorce could endanger women in abusive marriages.† People were once required to negotiate in divorce. The â€Å"No Fault Divorce† has changed that and takes the ground... ..., healthier, everlasting relationships fostered by good-old fashioned communication? Works Cited Council on Families in America. "Divorce Harms Society." Marriage and Divorce. Eds. Tamara L. Roleff and Mary E. Williams. Current Controversies Series. Greenhaven Press, 1997. Excerpted from â€Å"Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation by the Council on Families in America,† March 1995. Rpt. by permission of the Institute for Family Values. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thompson Gale. 15 June 2005 . Daw, Jennifer. â€Å"Saving Marriages: How to do it?† American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. 16 June 2005. 16 June 2005 . McManus, Mike. â€Å"Modesto’s Valentine: Divorce Rate Plunges 47.6%† Marriage Savers. 2001. 8 July 2005 . Plunkett, Robert L. â€Å"Divorce Laws Should Be Reformed.† Marriage and Divorce. Eds. Tamara L. Roleff and Mary E. Williams. Current Controversies Series. Greenhaven Press, 1997. From Robert L. Plunkett, "Vow for Now," National Review, May 29, 1995; (c) 1995 by National Review, New York, NY. Rpt. by permission. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Thompson Gale. 15 June 2005 .