In years past, divorce was a subject associated with shame, regret and remorse. Those times have vanished: In 2014, divorce is not only rampant, it is celebrated.

According to journalist Martin Zabell, divorce parties are the new trend. Newly divided families happily get together with respective friends to have “freedom parties,” go out to dinner, go skydiving or some other exciting activity.

Practitioners say divorce parties are intended to make the separation easier. They are meant to help the children, if any, cope with the idea of Mom and Dad splitting up the family. It is to celebrate moving forward by yourself. To top it all off, you get gifts to replace what you lost in the divorce. Give the kids cake and ice cream, and hopefully they will forget about the atrocious family breakdown.

“It’s part of life, and yet it’s the only major event for which we have no ritual,” Christine Gallagher said, owner of an event company in Los Angeles, The Divorce Party Planner.

Many divorcing parents console themselves with a belief that divorce repercussions on their children can be minimized if the couple maintains a good relationship after the separation. But according to a 2005 poll, even a “good divorce” causes psychological trauma to children with effects that last into adulthood.

Divorce is being glorified in Western society, but when families fall apart, the nation soon follows. Strong families are the backbone of a strong nation. Ancient Rome is an example of what will happen to a nation with rampant family breakdown. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry observed in “The Modern Romans”:

Rome in its heyday was affluent and had the mightiest army on Earth, just like America today. Back then, when people talked about Rome falling, they were scoffed at and scorned. When Seneca, the famous Roman, warned that Rome would fall—even telling people why it would fall—the people ignored him. In the words of Seneca, one of the foundational reasons Rome would fall was the fact that “they divorce in order to remarry. They marry in order to divorce.”

When you have couples divorcing, marriages falling apart and children suffering psychologically, the only path for a nation to travel is the path of destruction. America will suffer the consequences even as divorcees celebrate their divorce. If you’d like to understand more about how destructive divorce really is, read Mr. Flurry’s article “The Modern Romans.”