Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Institution of Marriage
Alright, so not to sound like a right wing Sarah Palin figure or anything, but why on earth does it make sense to want to abolish marriage? (This is in response to Ackelsberg/Plaskow article in WIR) Let me first get it out there that sure, I understand the argument being made about how marital benefits exclude large portions of the population and that isn't fair etc.; however, the solution then is not to "disestablish marriage as a legal form and the creation of a status of "civil union" that will allow people to create their own forms, and have them recognized by the state." The solution would be to petition for a better system of getting the "marital benefits" to those who aren't married and have no immediate plans to be married. This is not a problem with marriage, this is a problem with the government. And anyway, marraige should not be about the benefits, it should be about love and security. Call me crazy but I want to be married somday and feel safe in the knowledge that the person I have chosen to spend my life with has made a legal commitment not sleep with other people, to stay with me even when I'm old and fat, and to help take care of the children that we have raised together. Right, if it's a meaningful relationship and we are truly in love they should do this anyway; but I want more than that and a civil union doesn't necessarily imply that I'll get that particular set of benefits.
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Jenna I couldn't agree with you more. The problem lies with in the governmental system of how benefits are distributed and no with the institution of marriage. I would also like the same marriage benefits that you would one day and abolishing them is not the solution. Marriage is a sacred institution that deserves to be protected. If other people want the benefits get married or if you can't fight to change the system. Advocating for complete removal of marriage is absolute rubbish. This to me is an example of not looking at the big picture and I hope people will be able to see the big picture, let people in love get married regardless of who they get married to, and reformulate the system to include those who choose not to get married.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Jenna as well. Yes marriage does come with certain legal benefits such as the possibility to be on your spouses health care plan, but what happened to the nonmaterialistic side of marriage? While I completely support gays and lesbians having the same materialistic rights I'm not in agreement that that means we need to completely revamp or eliminate marriage. Maybe I'm just idealistic and can't see how important the economical and aspect of getting married is because I'm still in college and don't have to pay for things like health care out of my own pocket, but I want to get married for the love and devotion aspect. I think of marriage as a formal commitment to love one another and be devoted only to that person for the rest of your life. I don't believe that you have to be married to do this, but marriage is something that I hope to experience in my life not because of what I get out of it in terms of materialistic or economic benefits but because of the emotional commitment and love.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Jenna. Marriage is about rights but it is mostly about the idea of a bond between two people. It is something that was created by the church and though I am not religious I believe that people have certain rights and this should not be abolished. Those who are homosexual should have the ability to form a union that has the same rights as marriage. Whether they want to call it marriage or not is their own prerogative. I feel like the word marriage is losing its meaning, especially with the high divorce rates, it is not about rights but about love. Rights are the governments problem and in this aspect, everyone should be equal regardless of sexual preference.
ReplyDeleteSo, I somewhat agree with you. My biggest problem with our current system of 'marriage' is that it does not include all people. I agree that marriage is about love, so therefore, I believe that any two people in love shoudl be allowed to be married and have it legally recognized as a marriage by all people, and receive the benefits of being married, regardless of sexual orientation. Although marriage was originally a religious affair, now it has become a governmental institution, which like many other aspects of out government, has its flaws. The biggest is that not everyone can get married. I agree, reforming out system woudl be a big first step, but the first must be letting everyone get married. Rather than abolishing marriage I think that we should simply reform it to include everynone, regardless of gender, race, ehtnicity, or sexual orientation. If people are really all equal, then shouldn't we all be allowed to marry the person we love so that we can have the loving and trusting relationship that you described?
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