[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by GreekRankings

I know many sorority and frat handshakes, rituals and "secrets." One thing I learned is that they are all very, very similar. Similar handshakes, similar meanings hint: they all have to do with love/friendship/loyalty/class.

The big thing with Greeks is the "secret" stuff. Fact is, it's all really tripe, and to me, a gimmick.

Many religious ceremonies are similar - but what makes them not "tripe" is the meaning to the participants. Wedding vows are often alike - are they just words? No - again,what makes it meaningful is taking what is symbolic and making it real. Wedding vows have power when they are truly felt and meant. Ritual (the secret stuff) has power when it binds the members in a common goal - a common cause. It joins them, in much the way wedding vows do, through the commitment those who go through it have to making those vows a reality. Some couples divorce - that doesn't mean the vows are the problem. Some people don't "get" being greek - that doesn't mean it is "tripe" or a "gimmick". I firmly believe some people are better off not married, just as some are better off not in a glo.