Equality?

All this impassioned talk about “same sex marriage”. You’d think it was a matter of life and death. Why so much talk? Why so much passion? Surely there are other matters affecting the entire universe that should easily take precedence over the fact that some people feel that two men may marry or two women may marry, as against the usual man and woman combination.

Who gives a toss?

Let’s think about global warming and the horrendous consequence of climate change that is already affecting us all. Let’s look at war and its evil effect on entire populations. Can we talk about the billions upon billions of dollars that ‘advanced’ (?) countries are spending on sophisticated & destructive weaponry, while citizens of those same countries are condemned to suffering though lack of medical attention or even the ability to have a roof over their heads. Can we think about those matters with the same fury that many people are talking dramatically about the ‘need’ to allow same sex marriage?

Marriage (as we know it – or as we have come to know it) did not originate in the church. Nor will it apparently end being connected to the church.

Marriage - of some sort or other -  began many centuries ago, for practical purposes; it may have been to make a strong gathering of men and women in a clan, it may have been to create evenly paired groups for procreation and to enable the ‘hunter and gatherer’ way of life to flourish. It wasn’t until the 16th century that the church was officially involved, when the Roman Catholic Church made a law about it.

As for Romantic Love – that came about in the Middle Ages. Before that marriage was made between families, between children, even between people and ‘spirits’, for practical and mythical reasons.

To explore these facts you only have to do a Google search of the origin of marriage to find a plethora of interesting and weird information on the subject.

So, back to my original topic: What is this fuss concerning the subject of same sex marriage all about? What ever makes it worthy of such earth shattering commentary?

Marriage lately seems to be mostly about The Wedding. There are precious few meaningful religious marriage ceremonies performed nowadays. No longer are there rushed and secretive marital partnering in out-of-the-way churches or registry offices when an unwed couple finds itself/themselves facing an unplanned pregnancy. Nowadays, the bride is often proudly  displaying her ‘baby bump’ as she walks down the (nonexistent) aisle. Or the couple have their children as attendants. Or even (as in a wedding I witnessed) the announcement of a pregnancy was made at the wedding reception.

So if there are no longer the sweetly shy and innocent young brides and grooms (?) being married (as was supposedly the case over the past few centuries) and the church no longer features in many marriages -  and most couples have been living together for years before they marry, what is marriage for?

Is there any other purpose of marriage other than a reason to throw a big party and be the centre of attention for a day -  and spend enormous amounts of money to show off?

This is what marriage (as in a wedding) seems to be now.

Why, oh why are gay and lesbian people so ardently wishing to be part of this charade?

The latest statistics (for Australia) show that 32 % of marriages end in divorce, which makes one ask the question, will there have to be a new divorce law written to cater for the divorces of same sex partners, because surely the rate would be similar?

Another awkward fact is that “roughly one in three lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) couples experience domestic violence”  according to an article in the SMH last month; with similar reports from other sources.

So, I ask again – what is all the passionate pleading for “same sex marriage“ leading to?

I simply do not understand why it is so important to so many people – around the world!

It’s just not even worth discussing in my view.

If two people wish to live together, well, that should be up to them. The church is no longer the influential decider. The government of the day – in whatever country – should just hand the ‘living together’ situation over to the people involved. There are plenty of safety and legal measures that can take care of partnership agreements, so let’s make it a legal agreement -  between whoever -  and start putting serious debate and discussions on to MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS.

Can I, at least speak out on this annoying topic?

Let the world get serious about matters that matter!

Hey, What about some sort of equality about sharing wealth?

Sorry for raving on for over 800 words on a subject that I think does not even need discussing. (Sigh).