The Monday After
I read they now have the right to marry. Marriage has never been a right. It’s always been a choice. Either enter in or don’t. Marriage isn’t for everyone. Have you seen the job requirements? Very stringent. Have you looked at the tool set necessary to sustain a successful marriage? There are many people in marriages who ought not to be. It was the wrong choice for them. Marriage is not a right. It never was. It’s a choice. No one has to get married. It’s the same for everyone, a choice. If you don’t have the necessary qualifications, don’t, can’t, won’t, don’t want to, then don’t. There are many reasons one should not marry.
Am I an expert on marriage? As a matter of fact, I think I am. My grandparents were married for 84 years, the other set for more than 70; my parents were married 73 years. I was part of all those marriages. I’ve been married for 53 years. I’ve raised seven children to respect and honor marriage. I think I can speak as an expert.
The first thing I’ll tell you about marriage is it’s not about you. It’s not about your spouse. It’s bigger than the both of you. It’s huge. It’s a mystery. It has been cherished by millions over the centuries. And that act of holding it dear, squeezing it to the breast, protecting it, loving it as much as life itself…that actually is a right. It’s a right that comes with a guarantee that the government or other power will never wrench it away. It is a deeply held religious belief, a mystery, that we have a guaranteed right to hold. And yet, what has happened? Clearly there is a rights violation here. But it’s not the one you champion. Instead it’s the violation of those millions who believe in marriage as something spiritual, deeply religious, sacramental, holy; something bigger than themselves. It’s your parents’ right, your grandparents’ right, your great-grandparents’ right to hold that tenet that has been violated. Did you think about that?
I read this is about protecting rights. No, it’s not. If it were, the sheer energy of your campaigns would have overturned Roe vs. Wade a long time ago restoring right to life to millions of innocent victims. You would have considered the Constitutional right of others, your own family members, to cherish the mystery that is marriage. But, you trampled that right to gain...what? You’ve always had the choice to marry, or not, the same choice as every other citizen. Marriage was never a right.
I read that marriage was redefined. Who has the right to do that? Did you define it in the first place? Has redefining it in any way advanced society? Has it added anything to the greater good? I used to say, “I’m married.” You knew exactly what life style I had chosen. Now, you don’t know, do you? The definition is muddy. How does that add clarification for anyone? What right did you claim to change the language? If this really was an attempt to legitimize a union, then why didn’t you create an entity that would do that? Give it a name that identifies it, so when you say “I’m XYZ” it’s immediately identifiable with pride. No muddy word. It is what it says it is. Like the word marriage used to be, until last Friday. If you really wanted to have something official, a union ‘til death, a celebration of love, you could have created that. Look how many new words have been invented in the last twenty years, to define new creations. You could have had that. But that isn’t what you did. What did you accomplish?
It seems to me you have a very narrow and selfish platform. That doesn’t bode well for your future marriage. Selfish doesn’t work in marriage. Trust me. I’m an expert.