Divorce.

Move over, marriage, I guess. The new post-modern phenomenon of under-30-and-educated divorce is sweeping over the cliché phrase "everyone is getting married" like a 21st century cultural tidal wave. I'm 29; I know four people my age already divorced. Is this normal?

Examination and analysis. All four are Asian-American (though, of course, the people I know are predominantly Asian-American), all four divorces instigated by the woman, and all four under the age of 30.

The Census Bureau reported in 1997 that 84% of all Asian-American children were living with both parents, a number not only significantly above the national average, but significantly above other ethnic groups. In addition, according to the U.S Government Accountability Office, red states have a divorce rate 29% higher than blue states; a figure that might seem counter-assumptive considering the Christian contingent embedded within the philosophy of Republican states. Also, according to the Census Bureau in 2002, less than 10% of marriages end in divorce within the first five years.

This confuses me somewhat; though empirical data is questionable at best, if less than 10% of marriages end in the first 5 years in 2002, why is the number of weddings I have been to fewer than the amount of divorces I know of at age 29 or younger?

Something to think about, particularly if you're thinking of getting married. Don't become another statistic on my blog.