Earth 2

Back in the mid-1990's there was a short-lived (one season) science fiction drama on NBC called Earth 2. One of the cultural points I remember from that show was that marriages were 5-year contracts instead of "till death or divorce do us part". It seems that Mexico City is looking to the future:

Officials in Mexico City are considering a new way to address the city's high divorce rates: by making marriages temporary.

Couples would be allowed to decide on the length of their marriage (minimum license: two years), and the contracts would contain prenup-like legalese about financial support, how marital assets would be divided, and who gets custody of the kids. At the end of the contract, happy (or semi-happy) couples could opt to renew for another two years, while those who are tired of being together could simply walk away without a legal hassle.

"The proposal is, when the two-year period is up, if the relationship is not stable or harmonious, the contract simply ends," Leonel Luna of the Party of the Democratic Revolution, who co-authored the bill, told Reuters. "You wouldn't have to go through the tortuous process of divorce."

When you muck with the culture, there are always consequences. Always. Sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad, but the consequences are always there. Look what no-fault divorce and the celebration of single-motherhood did for our culture. Woo hoo.