Morality
Marriage – Until Death Do Us Part
Published on4/5/14 6:57 PM
The argument over gay/same-sex marriage
rages on to the point people are losing their jobs – as in the case
of Mozilla CEO, Brendan
Eich who was forced to resign for his contributions to Prop 8 in
California(essentially banning gay marriage). In every war there are
civilian casualties – in this one the greatest casualty might be
that of speech and those who love one another. This battle has put
family members at odds with one another.
Let's talk a little about marriage
itself. For the first half of this country's history people simply
went to their priest or priestess, depending on the religion, for
their marriage or hand-fasting. In some cases couples simply
cohabited. These unions were often recorded in the family bible,
along with the names of future children. When government began
keeping records, this is where they went for information.
After the slaves were freed, and
sometimes before in free areas, government began to notice that black
and white couples were getting married. There were those who thought
this joining might tarnish white purity. For that reason they began
passing laws to forbid these unions. It was for this reason
government decided to take over marriages from religious
organizations. There were instances where government forbade those of
different faiths to marry.
Today
a marriage performed by a government bureaucrat, or one by a priest
or priestess, are equally legal.
The government decides who can or can't take part in these government
sanctioned marriages. They decide who can take part in the privileges
set aside for those married couples. Justice Kennedy noted 1100
statues that pertain only to married people.
A marriage was intended to be something
much more personal than a set of government privileges. A marriage is
suppose to be about the communing of two lives. It is about two
people falling in love and joining for the rest of their lives.
Marriage is not about the potential for children, but two people who
wish to show a commitment to one another. A marriage is the promise
of life together. Many children are produced outside of marriage.
I once participated in one of those
government sanctioned marriages and from the day of “I do” until
the day of “I'm done” only eleven months had passed. It cost a
whopping 250 dollars in 1975 to a lawyer and government to end that
marriage. I vowed that day to never again participate in a government
sanctioned marriage.
My next long term relationship, not
sanctioned by government, was for “Until death do us part.” You
know you are committed when you hold their hand while vomiting after
Chemo. You know you are married when the person to whom you have
committed awakens one day and doesn't know your name. You know you
have committed to marriage when you raise that person's adopted child
as your own. You know you were married when you sit holding the hand
of that child at the funeral. I needed no government to tell me that
I was married – I needed no government paper to know that I had
committed “Until death do us part.”
It's time all Americans are treated
equally and end government sanctioned marriages. The couple who
cohabits should enjoy the same rights as those who stood before some
government bureaucrat offering meaningless words. We have contractual
law that can cover all possibilities that is now covered by marriage
laws. Marriage and being responsible for children aren't the same
thing. Taking care of the life you created is a personal
responsibility, and those who fail to provide that should be
punished. Marriage has never, and never will, make good parents,
especially one sanctioned by some oppressive government that decides
who can or cannot commit under the same legal rights as their
neighbor.
By demanding laws be changed to allow
gay marriage you are simply calling for an expansion of government
power. The demand should be to get government out of marriage. A
marriage should be two people in love standing before family and
friends making a life long commitment, not some stranger because you
need government privileges.
No matter if you are Christian,
Atheist, or Pagan, you should reserve marriage for your own beliefs,
and not those of government. Marriage is much more personal than a
government certificate. When the person to whom you have committed
sits before you bald and ill from Chemo, no government paper will
make life better. In some instances it can even make it worse. The
next time you find someone to whom you want to commit, forget
government and make it personal – “Until Death Do US Part.”
