AZ-
“EJ- Nice Idea! And your suggested method of implementation is…….”
This is exactly the problem, IMHO – your response assumes that a solution to this “crisis”, really cultural in nature, can be achieved by taking out a hammer, wrench and nails, rolling up our collective sleeves, and setting to work, tongue poking from the corner of our mouths…
Courtship and marriage today needs to be natural and organic, because our lives are so much more complex than they were in the past, when “the parsha” was much more systemic in nature. The trials, tribulations, stresses and complexities of daily life are so different than they were two or three generations ago that the “old” model of courtship and marriage may not be as relevant today in the same way, at least outside of most circles.
What I think needs to happen is young people need to be educated, with minimal bias, in understanding what marriage means today and what it entails. They need to empowerment to make their own decisions, in courtship and in married life, without the heavy reliance on others or “vitur hada’as” that can be somewhat prevalent. Girls should be encouraged to get married when they feel they are ready to, not when an arbitrarily imposed schedule compels them. Young people should be encouraged to clearly understand as best they can the pros and cons of various lifestyle choices. They need the freedom to choose a lifestyle on their own based on that understanding, not just conform to a general roadmap that has been long before laid out before them.