Divorce in "The Closing of the American Mind", by Allan Bloom

In his section on Divorce, Allan Bloom states that "in the past, such breaking away [Divorce] was sometimes necessary but always morally problematic" (119), and he continues with saying that "today [divorce] is normal" (119). Noting the normalcy of Divorce, or rather I would say frequency, Bloom questions what it means for the children, as they are the effected third party of Divorce. Bloom writes that “children may be told over and over again that their parents have a right to their own lives, that they will enjoy quality time instead of quantity time, that they are really loved by their parents even after the divorce, but children do not believe any of this” (119). In such a situation, children are having a reality altering experience; divorce will surely change the way they view family. Bloom writes that “the important lesson that the family taught was the existence of the only unbreakable bond, for better or for worse, between human beings” (119). With this view no longer valid, what will the children believe? What was once the inly unbreakable bond is now broken. Bloom comments that “the decomposition of this bond is surely America's most urgent social problem” (119). With a fifty percent divorce rate, this must surely be true. Especially if the children are to be the future, how is this present time affecting them? In the case that divorce is a subject of freeing one's will from the others, Bloom comments that “children learn a fear of enslavement to the wills of others” (119). This surely cannot be good for society; the irrational fear of enslavement if will puts us back into a fear like that of the state of nature, no longer part of society, but lost and fending for ourselves.

"The Marriage-Go-Round", by Andrew J. Cherlin

In his book, The Marriage-Go-Round, Andrew Cherlin discusses the state of Marriage and the Family in America today. His focus lays primarily on the instability of American relationships in contrast to other similar countries. With the instability of American families, based on Cherlin's observations, he comments on the place of children within the situation. Even if parents are to separate, Cherlin is of the opinion that the addition of a step-parent, even though it is an addition of a second parent, would actually create instability for the children. His explanations of his reasoning includes the tension that a step-parent would involuntarily create with the separated parent. This tension would create instability for the children. The basis for Cherlin's examination of the American Family revolves around the contradictory nature of America's prestiges views of Marriage and the strong cultural emphasis on Individualism. These two strong views are contradictory in nature. While Marriage is a value for the family, the individualism makes it difficult to place sufficient focus on the family. American's attempt at balancing these two cultural poles is what Cherlin finds so interesting.