Rantings of Newt

On marriage

This is a carry over from some thoughts I had on a Friday. Originally published on my blog I decided to move it to it's proper Rant location. After all, that is what this page is for.
And my blog is for the happier more normal side of me.

So here goes:

Which brings me to another thought. And a little bit of a rant. What we should and I stress SHOULD value is the commitment between two people who truly deeply madly love one another. It shouldn’t matter what sex they are, what color their skin, or to some/most extent the age difference between them. What should be celebrated is the love they share. And the fact that in this big huge and often ugly world two people managed to find their soul mate.

Instead, what too many people in this world value is appearances, obligations, and mythology. There is a fanatical belief among many that the only thing of value in a marriage is that it be between one man and one woman. If the ring is big, it’s even a better match. If the wedding costs more than a car, even better. If lots of money and gifts are given, well, that makes it an even better match. And if they throw a few kids into the mix. It’s the American Dream.

American Dream my ass. We have children born into marriages because the woman doesn’t want to be left behind by her friends. We have marriages being made because we need someone to “take care of us”. We have men who buy $50,000 engagement rings than beat the shit out of their wife and give her venereal diseases because he sleeps around. We have senators that turn red in the face and scream about what God wants in a marriage and then they go back to their office and bone their secretary. We have men that marry so they have someone to clean their house. Women who marry because the family expects them to and they could “do worse”. Men and women get married every day for the wrong reasons. And we celebrate them and call them holy.

Yet at the drop of a hat – at the mere whim we can dissolve that marriage faster than you can say : “You screwed my best friend?” And that folks, is acceptable. Those same red faced senators that preach about what god wants are on marriage number 4. But that’s ok. Divorce, infidelity, cruelty, abuse, those aren’t on the docket. Those aren’t the issue that American people care about today. No, what they care about is making sure that God’s great vision of marriage is preserved between a man and a woman.

And that ladies and gentleman is pathetic.

I personally would prefer to celebrate the joining of two soul mates. Frankly there would be so many fewer weddings the retail industry would collapse. Can you imagine what the world would be like if only the union of two souls deeply in love could be joined in matrimony?

On that note: Have a great weekend. Wow, I’m not sure what got into me.

posted by Newt @ 4:52 PM