Niña

For the last three months I've visited this wonderful lady called by her nick name Niña. She is 80 years of age and somehow since the first time I met her I felt like I knew her forever. She's from a little town in Portugal, Madeira were tourist is the only movement she gets from the outside island of Portugal. Niña has been with her husband for 54 years. This fact makes me ask myself, how can someone for so long be in peace with someone for 54 and still love them? In-between these facts Niña speaks words of wisdom, giving me advice on love and dedication. "Nunca decir cosas feas, siempre dile palabras bonitas cuando estes con el" (Never say anything ugly, always tell him pretty words when you're with him) Niña says, giving advice to keep up my friendship with her grandson. Niña inspires me and just this Tuesday she when back to Portugal, me and my boyfriend will send her post cards every month.

I Love Lucy!

Did you know that American Popular Culture flourished during the 1950s due to the influence of television? A very well known TV Show called "I Love Lucy", portrayed the idea of a common marriage back then. In the show, Lucy is married to Ricky Ricardo, a Cuban American Singer who is goal-orientated and has an excitable personality. In the other hand, Lucy is quite ambitious and loves to get herself into trouble. Ricky's patience is frequently tested, sometimes to its breaking point, by Lucy's naive and "trouble-making" personality.

Below is the link to one of the most well-known episodes of "I Love Lucy":

Prepare yourself to laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1Nubw8XJw&feature=related

Marriage and Religion

Religion has always had a big affect on marriage. It affects many aspects of a marriage. For example it affects what type of ceremony a couple will have, how they will raise their children, and overall, what type of life they will live. Divorce rates among different types of religions vary from 21% for Atheists/Agnostics, 24% for other Christians, 27% for Born-again Christians, and 30% for Jews. There have also been studies on divorce rates in specific locations. The Barna Group study showed that there is a 27% divorce rate in the south and Midwest, a 26% divorce rate in the west, and a 19% divorce rate in the northeast. Religion is also a big issue in a marriage with inter-faith religions. This can cause many problems when deciding what religion to raise the child with, and what holidays for each religion to celebrate. The married couple has to learn to compromise and support each other’s beliefs. Even in marriages where both partners are of the same faith there could be problems. Although both partners believe in the same thing, the way one person interprets a certain topic could differ from the other person’s interpretation. Issues could also arise if one persons belief in the religion is stronger than the other’s.

Fake marriages for Citizenships

We've heard some are looking for volunteers to help with a thing called the Immigration Marriage Fraud, and seems like the group is taking root. From time-to-time, they have meetings, and protests. As international marriages have become a social issue, the state tries to cope with these new issues through changing the laws and policies.

Sometimes these fake marriages lead to a complete loss of even a weak bound with their real families at home and to the divorce. The laws regarding dual citizenship by birth can get quite filigreed, depending on whether both parents are Americans, if they are married, and which parent is the foreign national.

In marriages of convenience that aren't discovered, the couple divorces when the spouse receives permanent residency. Sometimes they marry someone else back home to sponsor them. There are illegal aliens who sneaked across the border and got into fake marriages, and are still getting naturalized. An exception ought to be made for cases like this. On the other hand, what if you meet 'the one' or perhaps something else occurs and because you're married, you aren't able to deal with the situation? This is VERY serious and needs lots of thought put into it.

In all cases, they were already pretty committed and likely to get married anyway, and then visa problems would just force the issue. I don't think any of them have gone looking for a divorce yet. They never lived with the men nor consummated the marriages. They forged their husbands' names on immigration documents and vouched for each other to get citizenship and jobs. But if a person says they are married and they come here to the country, and the government finds out they are not married, they should be able to depart without having a big trial. Government can try them, as I did, and convict them and send them to jail, or give them a probationary sentence for filing a false claim to the Government or false document to the Government or false claim for entry into the United States.

Marriage & Advertisement

    Back in the 1950s, the concept of marriage was portrayed through advertisement, and mainly focused on the role of the housewife. This attracted many people to a certain product because back then it was all about having or being a "perfect housewife". Therefore, many products being sold that symbolized the "perfect housewife" were cleaning, cooking, and hygiene products since a housewife was obligated to cook, clean, and even look clean and beautiful for her husband. 

     For example, the advertisement to the right is a "Lysol" advertisement from the '50s that is selling a feminine hygiene product which was the key to regaining a husband's love and companionship. This advertisement uses a propaganda technique known as Transfer, which uses symbols to stirs emotions. In this case, the spider web is a symbol which represents the woman being trapped when she is not using the feminine hygiene product. The advertisement implies, "Held in a web of indifference" and later on shows a picture of a woman after using the product. She  is no longer trapped and says, "But I broke through it". The feminine hygiene product "Lysol" is a present-day household cleaner. 

   

    

Marriage and Children

One of the biggest issues that occurs in marriages is the choice of having children. This decision will change your life, either for good or bad. When choosing to have children, the parents must learn to better control their finances, put their children before themselves, and to find ways to keep their marriage healthy. Studies have shown that having children often drops the happiness in a marriage, and the drop is even greater for couples of higher class. A couple must understand that having children could put a strain on their marriage. They are going to have to work harder to stay close to each other, as well as their children. Couple’s activities will also be affected. They will not be able to travel as often and go to as many social activities. Choosing whether or not to have children is a long process that a couple should carefully think through. They should talk about how their choice is going to affect their lives as well as the lives of their children. They should also think of other options, such as adopting of fostering, so they can give a home to a child who needs one. But most importantly, a couple should make sure that they have a healthy marriage and are both ready and accepting to the choice to bring a child into the world.

The Beginning of A Marriage

The wedding ceremony used to be one of the most meaningful parts to marriage. It was the beginning of a new life, the start to a happily ever after. It used to be a once in a lifetime event that focused solely on the union between a couple in love, ready to take the next step. But now it seems that this ceremony has lost its true meaning. The meaning foe having a wedding ceremony is to make the union between two people in love official, it shouldn't matter how extravagant the ceremony is.

There are many women these days who want a wedding so badly that they will marry the first guy that asks them to or they will rush into a marriage too fast. These women spend large sums of money on their dream weddings, to have the best band, food, and decorations they can find. They are even willing to spend thousands of dollars on a dress that they will only wear once.

Now I have no problem with women wanting to have a lavish and memorable wedding, but when having a big and glamorous wedding to try and top off all other weddings becomes more important than the real meaning behind the ceremony, I begin to get annoyed and frustrated. i think that some brides are forgetting what this ceremony is suppose to represent. If you are going to marry someone, you should do it because you love them and are completely ready to take the next step, not because you want to create your fairytale wedding, the one you've dreamt of since you were a little girl.