Marriage No Chance Encounter

In a time of marital crisis…

Oh, please. Don’t you just hate stories that start like that, all archly judgmental and dripping with melodrama, identifying some situation plaguing the world?

Hey, point at something that exists in the world today that isn’t in crisis?

Or at least isn’t perceived to be in crisis.

Sure, the statistics indicate that you have a better chance of, say, being eaten by a great white shark than you have of remaining married for your entire life. But so what? It doesn’t help merely to identify marriage as this week’s crisis, plaster it on the cover of a weekly newsmagazine or hold congressional hearings in an attempt to solve it the way we might try with declining salmon runs.

What we need to do is work things out on a personal level. Putting fear aside, we need to meet each other face to face. If we can, and if we can open ourselves to change, then - and only then - will there be some hope for a future with fewer crises.

In terms of marriage, specifically, crisis management comes in all shapes and sizes. One, a Marriage Encounter Weekend, will be held in Spokane April 7-9. Sponsored by the Worldwide Marriage Encounter, with ties to the Catholic church, the event is open to couples of all faiths.

A press release promises those attending “will learn how to add more romance, excitement and depth to their relationships.”

For more information, including cost, call 484-5683 or 325-3263. For a recorded message of further information, call (800) 795-LOVE.

Toward a new boys’ club

Speaking of crisis situations, the American Psychology Association has not only identified one but attempted do something about it.

Six years ago the APA formed a unit designed to study the “new psychology of men.” At a February meeting, the professional organization voted to establish the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity as its 49th specialty division.

“Masculinity is currently in a state of crisis,” said division co-founder Ronald Levant. “It is my hope that the new division will develop programs that help men face this crisis and reconstruct their beliefs about manhood into a new masculine code that will better serve them in today’s world.”

MEMO: Common Ground is written on alternating weeks by Dan Webster and Rebecca Nappi. Write to them in care of The Spokesman-Review, Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Or fax, (509) 459-5098.