On his radio show, Dennis Prager will often ask a caller from out of nowhere, “Are you married?” And about 90% of the time, the caller will say no, and Dennis will say “I thought so.”
Dennis says that married people, particularly married people with children speak differently.
I think I can sense that too. When a man’s been married, he’s different. He’s more sober. He thinks more before he speaks because he’s used to take responsibility for others.
Here’s an analogy that speaks to me. You get different behavior from a lone wolf blogger than you do from a member of the mainstream media. A reporter from the New York Times when he asks a question or publishes a story isn’t primarily representing himself, he’s representing his organization and he has to conduct himself according to the organization’s rules. A lone wolf blogger like myself can go off and do crazy things and it doesn’t reflect on anyone but me.
So too with the married and with parents. They’re co-heads of a small organization. They have to take everyone into account, not just their spouse and their children, but their community, their spouse’s family and boss, their children’s school, etc. So married’s are much more careful and more responsible when they speak.
Married people on average are going to be wiser than the unmarried because they’ve experienced more of what has traditionally constituted a life.
A single person can usually give you his complete attention. A married person, particularly if they are around their kids and spouse, will rarely give you their full attention for long. Single people can focus and get lost in abstractions while marrieds have to constantly consider the effects of what they say and do on their family organization.
You can quickly make a deal with a lone wolf blogger. Making a deal with a New York Times reporter is likely going to be much more complicated.
