What is the meaning of Marriage?

[AsIs]

Divorce?

[5Cats]

Um, you mean all that can come from a marriage is divorce?
That two people can love & live together forever without it?
I'd agree with that. It's just a technicality, really.

[Branflakes]

Interesting question. I'm not sure what all my thoughts are on it.

Marriage for me means having my romantic relationship recognized by society. It means having a public commitment to the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. Its a public declaration of my love.

I may have more thoughts later.

[erisesoteric]

Everything's about perspective, isn't Bran. I can definately see where you're coming from. But to me, marriage is between two (or more, if that's you're choice) people who have decided that they are able to look each other in the eye and say "Yeah, I wanna spend the rest of my life with YOU," and NOT crack up in the process.

Everything else is... everything else, in my mind. Being acknowledged, being accepted... these are integral desires of being human, and apply as much to the individual as they do to the collective. In a marriage, the only thing that counts is the ability to make a commitment, and carry it through.

[JaceSan]

Witnessing several divorces I always pictured marriage, for me at any rate, as being a promise to stay with my spouse in order to raise children. Nothing more, nothing less.

If that were still the case I'd probably never get married. Times change and so has my perception.

[Branflakes]

To add to my thoughts:

I don't think of gf and I as married. I know we are committed to each other and plan to spend forever together. We don't need a marriage for that part. No one does.

But, I want to have the choice to marry. The choice to make my relationship "public", to have the safeguards society bestows on those couples that also accept the responsibilities society asks. Marriage is the public display of a committed relationship. I'd like to be able to choose it.

[AsIs]

Well put Bran! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[3peanuts]

I think it is all a question of origin of the word: basically it means "Mary-age". That means you have to spend your whole life with somebody called Mary.

No marriage if you date Susan, Rose and so on and on.

So definitely marriage's concept is kinda shallow. I'd call my daughter Mary, I don't want her to be an old maid till her death!

[img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img] *concerned 3p*

[AsIs]

I ask the question, because apparently, if two women or two men are allowed to marry, the *meaning* of marriage would be LOST!

I never pictured marriage as being that shallow... [img]wink.gif[/img]

[erisesoteric]

Originally posted by AsIs:
I ask the question, because apparently, if two women or two men are allowed to marry, the *meaning* of marriage would be LOST!

<font size="2" face="Comic sans ms, Helvetica, sans-serif">Don't get me started. Just please don't get me started on that phrase. It's one of those meaningless, empty phrases that people like to toss around because it sounds like it should mean something, but it doesn't. And now we have people attempting to base public policy on it. BAH, I say thee... BAH.