It should be harder to get married, easier to get divorced.

Think about it. How hard is it to get married? Is there a waiting period? Not enough of one, apparently. In fact, all you have to do is meet someone, experience that intoxicating rush of "new love," and off to the altar you run. In many cases, before the ink is even dry on the marriage certificate, you turn to look at your new spouse and wonder what on earth you were thinking. On the flip side, once you and your mate are so sick of each other you know you can't salvage the union, that's when the long uphill battle of a divorce is just beginning. Some states even mandate brutally long waiting periods before divorce proceedings can move forward.

While I am not an advocate for divorce – it's not a solution but simply a different set of problems – I am an advocate for making it tougher to marry. What's the harm? Yes, I remember being young and in love and having that feeling of, "I'll just DIE if we aren't together forever starting RIGHT NOW." But I also remember asking my mother for a monkey when I was a kid. Good thing one of us had some sense. How about some co-habitation classes? Classes teaching marital survival skills that include ENDURING THE WAY HE CHEWS 101, and TRY TO THINK OF OTHER WAYS BESIDES A PILLOW TO STOP HER SNORING.

Isn't it the little things that finally drive us over the edge? Yes, an affair or an out-of-control gambling addiction can both deal a lethal blow to a marriage, but what about slurping, or an annoying, jittery tic or chronic horrific-smelling socks? Come on now. You know I'm right.

I think that there should be a mandatory waiting period once a couple applies for a marriage license. During that period, they should be forced to spend time together not dating, but, say, paying bills or disciplining kids. They should be counseled in the ways of compromise and selflessness. For the ones who stick around and go through with the marriage and STILL find they just can't make it "til death do us part" without a little intervention of their own, divorce should be swift and final. Why drag it out and fan the flames, except of course to jack up attorney's fees? Exactly.