The Wall Street Journal gets it Right on Marriage

I have written and counseled others a great deal on marriage. While not an expert, I'm experienced. I have walked some pretty rough roads and know where the potholes are. In today's Wall Street Journal there is an article that for the most part I agree with. Read it here.

It starts:

As the national divorce rate plateaus at historically high levels, many people yearn to understand what makes a successful marriage. This has given rise in recent years to an outpouring of confusing studies and surveys attempting to nail down the odds of particular types of couples staying together.

HOW TO MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

• What are your tricks for keeping a marriage together? Or, how would you have done things differently? Share your thoughts and experiences with Sue Shellenbarger.

• What are the benefits of marriage? Diane Sollee, the founder of SmartMarriages.com, a coalition based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on couples education, answers the question and offers tips to people who want to be a better spouse.

Which couples have the best chances? Depending on which study you believe -- they vary widely in quality -- you must get lots of education, earn a lot of money, marry over age 25, live in a Blue State, be white, or be a Presbyterian or a Catholic (but only a faithful one who attends Mass). What doesn't help: being a born-again Christian, having daughters instead of sons, having divorced parents or being born in Oklahoma. (Pilloried in the media a few years ago for its high divorce rate, Oklahoma has mounted a state-funded marriage-education program that has enrolled 133,000 people so far, an official says.)

Read the whole thing, It's pretty balanced.