Research Paper

I had to write an essay for my English 101 Class. This is one of the drafts. I wanted to publish it on the web because my teacher figured I should change some parts of it. It is supposed to be more of a research paper, and I put to many non scholarly parts to it (i.e. the Quote from Lauryn Hill, and the paragraph about The Matrix). I really liked the way it was, and I wanted to also have it out on the web so others could read it.

To keep me in this box, Psychological locks
Repressin' true expression, Cementin' this repression,
Promotin' mass deception So that no one can be healed
I don't respect your system, I won't protect your system,
When you talk I don't listen
Oh, let my Father's will be done

~ Lauryn Hill

"You've been living in a dream world, Neo." This is a famous line off of the Movie, The Matrix. The scene is Morpheus, the captain of the spaceship Nebuchadnezzar and a type of prophet whose job was to find the Chosen One, was showing the matrix to Neo, a man who had recently been unplugged from the Matrix. The Matrix is the vehicle used to enslave the human race, to basically be batteries for artificially intelligent computers. Morpheus is aptly describing how Neo had been living a lie, unable to see the world as it really was. There is a similar matrix that people have been living in, even here in America. The rise in this countries divorce rates, bringing about broken homes, is a destructive force that if left unresolved, will bring about destruction. The average Joe does not really have an understanding of what is going on in our society; they are living in this false world with the matrix pulled over their eyes.

Marriage is not a license or official document issued by a church or government. Marriage is the union of two people; sexually, emotionally, and spiritually. The marriage license is only an outward and public declaration of what is going on in the lives of the couple. This means that to have intercourse with someone, is to become married to them with or without the formal declaration. Too many of this nations formal declarations are being torn apart because this understanding of marriage is not even on the radar screen. The youth of America, for the most part, do not enter into relationships with eyes for the long term. The single youth of this day need to approach sexual relationships with care, and have a view of marriage that is conducive to a long term relationship. This means that the criteria for relationships must be more then physical attraction and hormones; it must consist of the couple having similar characteristics, goals, values, dreams, and directions they see their lives heading, attached to an absolute resolve to work the issues that are going to come up, out. When this is done the divorce rates in America will decrease dramatically.

Divorce Statistics is the first issue in the problem of broken homes that we must discuss. Divorce rates are on the decline from 1990 to 2001 (Americans for Divorce Reform), but they are still at startlingly high numbers. The United States Censuses bureau is a highly accepted statistic gatherer, who looks at a broad selection of issues. One of the issues that they report on is marriage and its counterpart divorce. This is what was said in the 1992 Current Population Report, "...if one assumes a continuation of recent divorce trends, about 4 out of 10 first marriages to the youngest cohort may eventually end in divorce. Alternatively, if one assumes a return to the pattern of divorce during the 1975 to 1980 period, 5 out of 10 first marriages may eventually end in divorce." (Census Bureau) To put this in more understandable terms, this means that forty to fifty percent of first time young married couples will end in divorce. I would call odds like that flip of a coin statistics. To bring these impersonal statistics into the light of a subject we can all understand, I will equate it to Abbots 12:40 English 101 class. If all of the 23 students in Abbots class were to get married, about 10 - 12 of those marriages will statistically end in divorce.

Divorce is a prevalent issue, but there is a secondary issue related to it that must be addressed. Broken homes lead to a greater likely hood of children being involved in delinquent behaviors. I will describe families that are made up of both biological parents as a nuclear-family. Those families that are non-nuclear will use the terminology broken home. One of the prevailing reasons that the break up of the nuclear family is so detrimental to our society is because of its effect on the children involved. In the Feb 2002 issue of Criminology, Cesar J. Rebellon submitted a very in-depth study relating to broken homes and delinquency. Within this study he cites some 60 previous studies and sources. He brings a well rounded view of this relationship. He sites a 1991 publication of Wells and Rankin with some very interesting figures. They state that about 10 - 15% of individuals from these broken homes are more likely to be involved in delinquent behaviors, then those who come from homes that I have described as nuclear (par. 23). This statistical evidence takes another blow at divorce and society as we know it. To again put this in perspective, using Abbott's Class, two of the twelve broken homes, would have kids that are involved in delinquent behaviors merely because of broken homes. It must also be noted that there would statistically be other children involved in delinquent behavior for various other issues.

We are starting to see that broken homes are a common issue in our society, but there is a third issue that we can look at the same issue for a slightly different light. Involvement in delinquent behavior is not the only avenue that socially unacceptable behaviors come out due to broken homes. I recently attended a talk given by Vincent J. Felitti, MD. Vincent is a Medical Doctor at Kaiser Medical Center, and a part of a group involved in their ACE study. The purpose of this study was to look at the links between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) to different medical conditions. They looked at multiple different categories like having a family member in prison, domestic violence, drug users, non-nuclear families, and others. For each of the categories that were involved in the individual’s upbringing, gave another point on the ACE score (Pg 3). They then took that data and related those ACE scores to percentages of those people that had different medical conditions. The findings of this study produced charts that by a consistent measure went up the higher the ACE score. Some of the topics that they looked at were: Ace Score vs. Intravenous Drug use (pg 5), ACE Score vs. Attempted Suicide (pg. 6), ACE Score vs. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (pg 4), and many other topics. Each of these graphs and figures show that the higher the ACE score, consistently the percentage is extremely higher sometimes several hundred percent higher then those with an ACE score of 0. Broken homes along with other Adverse Childhood Experiences are bringing about detrimental results in our society.

The tendency towards divorce must be broken, if we hope to keep our society from falling apart. Single young people, before they enter into a relationship, need to count the cost. If these singles were to enter their sexual relationships with an understanding that sex is marriage, and a paradigm that looks to the future with that individual not only the hormones involved, then there would be fewer divorces. When the youth of America can come back and have an understanding of marriage by covenant, and not by paper they will also bring back with the old norm of marital longevity.

Word count - 1,247
Last Revision - 11-04-04

Works Sited

Americans for Divorce Reform, Divorce Rates. 2 Nov. 2004 http://www.divorcereform.org/rates.html

Census Bureau. “Current Population Reports, P23-180, 1992.” pg. 5, 2 Nov. 2004.

Felitti, Vincent J. "Belastungen in der Kindheit und Gesundheit im Erwachsenenalter: Die Verwandlung Von Gold in Blei." Trans. "The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences to Adult Health: Turning gold into Lead." Z psychsom Med Psychother 2002; 48 (4):359-369.

Hill, Lauryn. "I Get Out." MTV Unplugged 2.0. Sony, 2002.

Matrix, The. Directed by Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Warner Studies, 1999.

Rebellon, Cesar J. "Reconsidering The Broken Homes/Delinquency Relationship and Exploring Its Mechanism(s)." Article. Criminology Vol. 40 Issue 1, Feb 2002. 103 pages. 25 Oct. 2004