Marriage in popular culture has experienced its share of ups and downs, mostly the latter, in recent years. The decline of marriage has even spread to middle America, once the bedrock of healthy relationships and stable families. Men and women now increasingly forego the benefits of marriage for unstable cohabiting relationships and increasing numbers of children are born outside marriage. Despite these daunting challenges to rekindling positive popular attitudes toward marriage, the fight to restore the honor and stability of lifelong, married love is far from over.
One organization committed to restoring marriage is Love is Here, which chronicles the journey of newlyweds, Nathan and Brittany, as they search for what makes love and marriage last a lifetime. Through a series of “webisodes” documenting the real-life struggles, heartaches, and ultimate happiness of married couples around the country, Nathan and Brittany demonstrate the power and hope found in a committed marriage relationship. Pairing personal stories with resources for single, engaged, and married individuals, Love is Here provides a unique look at current marriage trends and dares to defend the promise and hope of marriage.
Love is Here acknowledges that healthy marriages offer even more than personal happiness. The organization’s mission is: “To foster healthy, lasting marriages, so more kids can receive the documented benefits from being raised by both their mother and father in a healthy-marriage home.” The effects of stable marriage on reducing a child’s risk of poverty are just as important as a couple’s emotional fulfillment in a lifelong, committed relationship.
More and more organizations are uniting to champion the impact of healthy marriage on society. Hundreds of national groups, local leaders, and religious institutions will collaborate during National Marriage Week February 7-14 to promote marriage in communities across America. It is not simply the responsibility of local communities, however, to help strengthen and promote marriage. Policymakers can also encourage matrimony by eliminating marriage disincentives in the U.S. tax code and welfare programs and by funding healthy marriage campaigns in low-income communities.
Through efforts like Love is Here and carefully crafted marriage policy, organizations and policymakers can help remind society of the benefits of marriage, support couples in building and keeping healthy relationships, and persuade the next generation that settling down doesn’t involve settling for less.
Watch the first installment of the Love is Here webisodes.