I think marriage should be a contrat, designed like with an employer or term life insurance - first term maybe 3 years, with a review to renew the contract afterwards. (Or maybe 1 year, maybe 1 year is ideal as a starter...)

If all is well, the stage two marriage contract goes to 3 or 5 years, with subsequent reviews at the same interval.

Dedicated individuals could be daring and opt for the 10 year deal.

This would create an environment in which people would be forced to evaluate their lives and what they have become regularly, making happy people happier and giving unhappy people, or people who stunt each other, or anything else a chance to just walk away.

Of course there would probably have to be some sort of option for an extended review period (now days referred to as separation) if needed at any point.

Would this increase the incidence of "divorce"or termination of contract, well i think its already 50%, for god sake, isnt the damage already there. And really how many sad, no miserable people are out there trapped not even thinkign they arent okay because they dont even have the time, or reason to think about themselves, or how they feel.

All this to say, I believe in marriage and being dedicated to another person. By this I don't mean it has to be in a church or even in a court house, but rather the committment to another person for life.

These days how do we really even know what we know? If we should start to realize something is amiss it shouldn't lead to some big horrible event known as the "divorce", it should just be like "Oh yeah we had our 3 year review and we both just kind of decided not to renew." Or maybe, as the kids grow up you realize you have both served your purpose and "hey it would be nice to move on to another stage apart..." No hard feelings.

Enough of the negative, on the positive side : imagine how positive it would be for people in relationships to KNOW that the decision to be together, to be dedicated to one another and "walk the same path" (or at least support one another in individual paths) was constant, and true, and the reason the other person was there is in fact because they wanted to be, and they chose, renewal and renewal time and time again : YOU.

~v.