As asked by Mrs. Laura Grace Robins (make sure to visit her wonderful blog):
1. How do we restore a virtuous society?
2. How do convince an amoral society to marry young?
3. What about those who are prepared for marriage, but cannot find a spouse?
I’ll take a crack at answering these three questions.
In response to the first question, I would say that the first step is to stop subsidizing sin. We can’t reward sin and expect it to stop. We simply can’t. Also, as cliché as this sounds, Christians need to walk the walk in terms of living virtuously. If sin is no longer subsidized, people will need someone to look up to, and Christians need to step up and be examples in this department. Former Colts coach Tony Dungy is someone I consider to be a good example of being a good example.
In response to the second question, I again address the issue economically. Quick question: what do you get when you mix a 50% divorce rate with alimony/child support payments that can take up to 70% of a man’s income? Answer: effectively, you get a 35% tax on being a married man. That’s got to stop.
Given the “married man” tax, it becomes fairly obvious that most women literally aren’t worth marrying. Proverbs 31 describes the virtuous wife. Sadly, it doesn’t describe the exceedingly vast majority of single American females. There is little point in volunteering for a 35% tax on income if there is nothing of value received in exchange. Athol Kay has covered this issue quite well.
I am also inclined to blame the college bubble to some extent as well, since marrying young can be economically disastrous for anyone pursuing the college route, especially if the couple in question wants to start having children right away, and are also inclined to have the wife stay at home to raise them. Such a setup is largely impractical for those seeking the college career track. There are solutions to this issue as well, but that is a topic for another post, or possibly an academic paper.
In response to the third question, I recommend adjusting expectations (sadly misnomered as “settling”). Quality women seeking Godly alpha men are pretty much out of luck. Basically, ladies, don’t discount a man just because you aren’t totally turned on by him. Give him a chance; he may grow into an alpha.
