Happily UNmarried??

I just found this article and I am in shock! I can hardly believe that the world it falling apart so quickly! If people are living as if they are married, why don't they just go ahead and do it? They are devaluing marriage. God has taught us that the family is the basic unit of society. In the LDS church, we have been given the proclamation on the family to help us to know just how important marriage and family are! I just don't understand why people so easily give up on marriage. One point that was made in the article was that women are afraid of losing themselves in marriage. They feel more free when they just live together. I don't feel oppressed by being married. I feel more free now than when I was single. Aaron has helped me work past low self esteem and low body image! He wants me to be my own person and to accomplish things outside of the home. Yes, I stay home with my children and manage the house, but I am much more than that! What I don't understand, is why is it that people feel that marriage is the thing that ties them down? It is how they define their relationship, not whether or not they are married. It is still the same person, and they can still act the same way towards each other! Marriage is a commitment that is not entered into lightly, but it is a necessary choice to keep our society together. AND unlike a comment made in the above article, marriage is forever as well, if you do it right!