The Collegian

Issue date: 9/29/05 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Pamela Kohler "People express themselves through many different mediums, I chose to express myself through artwork on my body. I have a good side and a bad side, like ying and yang. It creates harmony," said Ahren Strack, 23 a Delta College student of his tattoos.

This country is based on morals. Though they have changed substantially over the years, they generally tend to be good morals. That's not to say we abide by them... but they still remain the building blocks of our country.

I'm going to take a specific look at family morality and how it has changed between the fifties and the present.

The '50s were a time of "perfect" families. With two and a half kids, a hardworking father and a stay-home mom, everything was tip-top, meatloaf on the table at five and kids to bed at eight. Divorce was practically unheard of.

The divorce rate went from 9.2 divorces per 1,000 married women per year in 1960 to 22.6 divorces per 1,000 married women per year in 1980.

Obviously, the morals had been dramatically altered causing some liberation. People realized that it was okay to get divorced, so they didn't stay in a marriage if it was not wanted. Well, not everyone divorced if they were unhappy, but a lot of people started to.

The downside of divorce that is becoming more common is that people get married too soon and figure, "Well, why not just get married? If I'm not happy we can just get a divorce."

This is happening more and more today, but there is morality in much more than just marriage. How about abortion?

Today, abortion is widely common throughout the U.S.

In the '50s, it was certainly frowned upon. That's not to say it isn't frowned upon by some in today's society, but it's definitely more accepted.

It's weird how things can change so much. And it's weird how we say our country is based on a certain set of morals, but the morals change almost as much as we change our socks.

Personally, I'm glad that the morals of this country have changed since the fifties. I know I wouldn't want to be stuck at home all day vacuuming in high heels and pearls. That's obviously a stereotype, but things are better now, in my opinion.

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