Work on the machine that makes the machine
In a nation with a roughly 50% divorce rate, how is it possible that such a big problem hasn’t been solved? There are over 300 million people in the US alone. This problem touches every family in some way. It’s not as if there is a lack of interest or enough people thinking about this. Romantic relationships take up a lot of the average person’s headspace. And yet, despite our collective efforts, many average people can’t seem to get it right.
There are communities where divorce is low. Given the size of the world population, it would be more surprising if nobody had any answers. If we learn from the successful, we can all benefit. Kids raised in two parent homes have massive advantages over kids raised by single parents. Single mothers often end up bitter and resentful. The fathers too. And the kids can grow up becoming aimless and withdrawn. Jordan Peterson describes divorce as a form of non-fatal cancer. It’s hard to overstate how meaningful a solution here would be to most people.
Childbirth is also the thing that makes all other things. We don't get science, art, music, or anything else without people. This is so obvious it’s almost not worth stating. Scientific discoveries are great. A system that makes science possible is greater still and sits above everything else. This system is the soil and sunshine that makes the entire garden of civilized life possible. Our garden is dying. Each year, couples get married later in life and have less children. And yet, the smartest among us lack the courage to work on this ugly hairy problem that involves miscarriages, divorce, betrayal, childcare, sex, and diapers.