Although I disagree with everything you have said, I want to try to understand where you're coming from because I don't.
You take vows and marriage very seriously. Good for you -- I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. What baffles me is why you are concerned about how other people view their relationships. How does it affect you if other people get divorced or if gay people are able to marry? How does is affect you if other people don't take marriage seriously? How does that have any effect at all on your relationship or your life?
I just absolutely fail to understand why anybody here is concerned with other people's relationships and how they define them. When my divorce is final, what effect will that have on any other member of GC? None! Maybe some of you think less of me because I've broken my vows or whatever, but I believe that life is too short to stay in a relationship when you're not happy. That doesn't mean that I'm going to go out and tell all of the unhappily married people out there that they should get divorced because they are defiling the concept of marriage. Their relationships have nothing to do with me, and I think that people should be free to do what they want.
I think it's great to have things that you belive in very strongly, but I don't understand the desire to force others to fit into the mold that you have chosen for yourself.
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Originally posted by Ginger
This is EXACTLY the problem. Marriage doesn't mean anything to people anymore. Marriage is for LIFE. I'm not even religious (I believe in God, but I'm not a member of any particular religion), so it's not that I'm against it because of the bible or whatnot.
My problem with legalizing gay marriage is that people don't value what marriage is anymore. I am getting married in a year and my future husband and I have discussed that we will be married for LIFE.... come what may, divorce is not an option. It is simply not. Even if, heaven forbid, we become morbidly unhappy - we have made our vows and those vows are to work it out. Both of my parents were divorced before they met each other, and remarried to have me. Both of them say that while they are much happier in their second marriage (yay for parents who love each other!!) that they are very guilty over breaking their vows and that they should not have married their first spouses. They taught me to value the vows I will say in front of the Justice of the Peace, and that they are not vows that can be broken.
If we're going to teach children (and adults) to learn to respect the meaning of what marriage is, we need to set limits on who can be married. Marriage is between a man and a woman who love one another and plan to spend their life together. Marriage is not between me and my brother, or me and my sorority sister. I may love them, and want to have them in my life forever, but marriage is not the venue for that. There are other ways to express that love... and it's not through marriage.
edited to add: I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this.... so flame on. I'm going to be away from the computer until tomorrow morning, so I'll reply to all RESPECTFUL questions/discussion then. I'm not going to reply to flames.
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