Folks keep telling me I’ve got marriage on the brain (my boyfriend just proposed) but this has been brewing in my mind for quite some time. It actually started back when I saw all those crazies in Sacramento following the “Prop 8″ vote.
The Prop 8 initiative simply defined marriage as between a man & a woman. Nothing complicated. Real simple. And even in a far left liberal-leaning state like California, it passed with 52% of the vote. Now, if you’re a LIBERAL, you’d consider that a landslide, a mandate even, right?? (Think 2008 presidential election, Obama v. McCain).
But not THOSE crazies. They considered it a travesty of justice, a complete farce & fraud, and demanded that it immediately be repealed. ???? If conservatives had known this was even a possibility we’d have been ALL OVER THAT after November 2008!
AnyWHO, while I was watching these very angry individuals dressed like boudoir dolls from Bourbon Street screaming about equality & carrying signs that said things like “don’t discriminate, gays deserve rights too!”, or “gay is the new black” (this one really confused me), I got to thinking: Is marriage truly a RIGHT?
Well, as a conservative the first place we would turn is the Constitution & Declaration of Independence. Didn’t find it there. You could stretch and try to apply “pursuit of happiness” but that would imply that you can’t be happy without marriage. Which is obviously a silly notion, because I’ve been deleriously happy for most of my 37 years and I’m not married (yet).
Since the constitution was written based on the inalienable rights endowed to us by our creator, I went to my second in line source: the Bible. The majority of our original 56 founding fathers were clergymen. When they said “our creator”, they meant GOD. I don’t care what ANY liberal tells you . THEY DID.
The Bible has quite a bit to say about marriage, most of which we all know. We’ve heard the irritating slogans of “Adam & Eve, not Adam & Steve”, etc. And while as a Christian I understand that religion condemns this sort of behavior, I also firmly believe that God teaches us not to judge, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to let HIM be in charge of Judgement Day. So, instead of preaching, I decided to look at the HISTORY of marriage.
Marriage was originally a creation of ancient society as a means to: (most importantly) perpetuate the species; create a system of rules granting property rights; and to protect bloodlines. Now, the whole bloodline thing is a little silly at this point, because our country is a TRUE melting pot of cultures, norms, languages and people of all colors. But the perpetuation of the species, and creating a legal framework by which to easily transfer property are still determinant on the traditional family structure.
Hebrew law mandated that a man marry his brother’s widow. And marriages were arranged until the twelfth century Troubadors introduced the concept of “romantic love” as a means to an end in creating the union of marriage. But the marriages were still seen as a union sanctified by the religion of the region, & was used to track ancestral family names & identify clans. In the majority of clans of Babylonian & Mesopotamian eras, the husband was not allowed to take a second wife unless his first wife proved infertile. This obviously goes back to the perpetuation of the species and bloodline.
When anthropologists study the history of man they find many instances of “marriages” of individuals represented, predating government control of the individual. And these “marriage” rituals were considered RITES, not RIGHTS, & were facilitated between the families affected or involved, NOT any centralized control or gov’t. Even today, when remote villages & cultures are discovered they are almost always found to have a “marriage” ceremony of religious nature that brings a man & a woman together in the tribe or clan. Obviously THESE folks aren’t getting a blood test, permit or license from their local magistrate.
Now, if you think about this a moment, you’d begin to see my conclusion that marriage existed far before formal governments. And as a religious rite, or sacrament, it was a function of the ceremony to unite two people in the eyes of the community, “church” and families, NOT THE GOV’T. Yet, at some point, the gov’t saw fit to get involved in this religious ceremony. They saw an opportunity to create laws to regulate this religious ceremony (you can’t marry blood relatives, etc), and ultimately to profit from it (marriage licenses are required & NOT FREE, not to mention the extra taxes!).
Now if you’re hearing that whole “separation of Church & State” mantra from the lefties, you’re on the right track. Because keep in mind that most states require an ordained minister or a magistrate to marry you. And there are VOWS that are required, and WITNESSES; those folks from your tribe or clan that support you in this union! Even after the gov’t got involved the legacy of religion remains.
Our colonies were regulating marriages when they came over from England, brought from the Common Law procedures of our Founding Fathers. And despite what the liberal lefties would like for you to believe, it seems that God, at this point, is so entrenched in our country, our government and her people, that it will be virtually impossible to extracate him. And I’m okay with that.
Marriage is a religious RITE, not a RIGHT. And if the liberal left, gays & lesbians would recognize this FACT, because that’s what it is, perhaps they would be able to move away from the offensive, contensious assault on the Christian way of life, our country’s history & founding, and focus on a solution that works for them.
How about a solution like CIVIL UNIONS; a recognized union of two people committed to each other, which gives them legal options under certain limited circumstances (like married couples) without a complicated legal contract for evey aspect of their relationship. It’s like a stamp that allows a letter to be sent from Paduka, Kentucky, to Bangladesh, India, without needing a special new stamp at every stop along the way. And let’s not forget that lovely extra “marriage tax” that results from our crappy progressive tax structure! They need to get ALL of the “benefits”……not just the fun ones.
But by all means, while you’re standing on a street corner trying to bite off a conservative’s finger screaming about how you want respect, why don’t you consider the very genuine reality that Christian married folks want the same thing: RESPECT. We want respect for our tradition, our beliefs and our marriage union. You don’t call yourself a HETEROSEXUAL, why call yourselves a MARRIED couple?
Let’s bring that respect request full-circle, & recognize that marriage is a religious RITE between a man & a woman, not a RIGHT as allowed by our system of laws, and instead let’s focus on an acceptable solution that accomplishes the true goal without dessimating a long history of tradition, while allowing two committed individuals to enjoy the same legal (and TAX!) advantages.