Two Day Magazine

Have been thinking a lot on the subject of marriage in our society lately. We have hit a crossroads in this institution. We (as a society) won’t allow gay people to get married, but we treat marriage amongst heteros as something you “give a try” but can easily get out of with the swish of a pen.

How did we get to this place that disenfranchises so many people over something that we clearly don’t care very much about, ourselves? How many people do you know that are divorced? How many people do you know that have been married more than once? Twice? Hell, even three times? Why is it that some people in our society are trying so hard to get into a club that we have clearly deemed irrelevant, and yet we still don’t allow them in? Does this strike anyone else as bizarre? Are we missing something?

Notice how celeb culture infiltrates our lives, permeates it in ways which we don’t even consciously realize. The more that we look at other people and how they conduct themselves, the more we adjust our lives to match those around us. Humans are social creatures. We like the “pack mentality” even if it isn’t good for us. Looking at Hollywood really has helped me understand how we have restructured the moral fibers of our country. They put on a show, we applaud, and then, we mimic. Hollywood is full of second and third marriages. It’s full of “we have known each other for only a few months, what the hell, let’s get engaged! It’s like ‘serious dating’!” I often wonder, if we saw these same philanderers in monogamous, long term relationships, would we look to our own relationships differently? Would we hold marriage as a sacred institution? Would we maybe feel empathy for those who couldn’t get married and change the law so that they could live their lives with their partners in the same light, with the same respect and dignity as the rest of us?

Would the younger generations and their relationships be better if they had seen true commitment from their parents? Do the words ‘ ‘til death do us part ’ really mean something at this point? I understand if a partner is abusive, or unfaithful, or neglectful why someone wouldn’t be able to stay. But, we use that phrase ‘irreconcilable differences’ so frequently that it has become meaningless. When someone promises forever, and then sticks around for three or four years, why even bother? Vows should mean something. Giving your word should mean something. We treat each other with such little respect, with such little care, that it has all become such a sham. And the, we get on our moral high horse and tell others who perhaps have a better understanding of the words “for better or worse” because they are living in the worse due to people that have it better than they realize.

Below is a funny video of the vast variety of weddings!