Thursday, October 09, 2003
When you cut down the tree, you destroy the branch
Marriage was once considered the foundational unit of society. Because of the benefits that it provided society, it was protected. Because it was a society 'good', it was preferred above other relationship arrangements. Out of marriage has sprung a variety of other arrangements, such as de facto relationships and solo parenting. These other arrangements were once considered immoral or looked down upon, then they became accepted, and now they are being celebrated as equal to, or in some cases even superior to, marriage (as we see in songs, movies and on tv). The law has lagged behind popular culture. But law is now being changed to make all relationships equal in law (including same-sex). The aim is to give all relationships the same benefits as marriage. But this is a pathway to destruction of all those relationships. It is equivalent to cutting down a tree in order to preserve the branch.This is because we draw our understanding of the meaning of relationships from our understanding of marriage. Marriage provides the base definition from which all other relationships draw their comparison. Without marriage, there is nothing to compare. Another analogy: it is like going to a pond to look at your reflection, and finding the pond has dried up.
Marriage was once considered the foundational unit of society. Because of the benefits that it provided society, it was protected. Because it was a society 'good', it was preferred above other relationship arrangements. Out of marriage has sprung a variety of other arrangements, such as de facto relationships and solo parenting. These other arrangements were once considered immoral or looked down upon, then they became accepted, and now they are being celebrated as equal to, or in some cases even superior to, marriage (as we see in songs, movies and on tv). The law has lagged behind popular culture. But law is now being changed to make all relationships equal in law (including same-sex). The aim is to give all relationships the same benefits as marriage. But this is a pathway to destruction of all those relationships. It is equivalent to cutting down a tree in order to preserve the branch.This is because we draw our understanding of the meaning of relationships from our understanding of marriage. Marriage provides the base definition from which all other relationships draw their comparison. Without marriage, there is nothing to compare. Another analogy: it is like going to a pond to look at your reflection, and finding the pond has dried up.
