Cosby and American Life
J. Allan Petersen in Homemade, October, 1987
For many years I've publicly challenged the widely-held belief that one of two marriages ends in divorce. It was obviously not true. Some academics incorrectly calculated this ratio by noting that 1.2 million divorces and 2.4 million marriages were reported for 1981. The truth finally prevails. A Louis Harris poll now calls the one-of-two divorce rate a myth. "What was left out is that there are 54 million other marriages that are going on very nicely. By combining ongoing and new marriages in any single year, only 2 percent of existing marriages will end in divorce.
A number of academics made a sensational splash out of it." Dr. Lee Salk comments, "This survey is incredibly important. It tells us that TV's Cosby family is depicting a better picture of American family life than anything else.
