Tradition if the root of who we are, the link to our heritage that reminds us of who we are by reinforcing who we were. It is a source of structure and law. For many it is even more than law. It is their religion, guiding faith as it guides morality and society.
Marriage is one of the most followed traditions around. As children we are told that when we grow up we'll marry and have children. It is expected. We are told it is a commitment made between two people....for life. Knowing what I do today, this whole idea is absurd. How many people can truly grasp anything for life? People in prison, serving a life sentence, have explained that it took years coming to terms with that sentence, and that others never do. I wasn't thinking about a life sentence the day I was married. I loved the woman and was willing to share my life with her. That's it.
As tradition roots us, grounds us and gives us hope, so it also wreaks destruction and denies change. I would never pretend to understand another person well enough to demand that they change their traditions. But how foolish is it to hold to those ancient rituals and holy texts, scribbled on unreadable parchments, without regard for the changes that have taken place around us? The world is forever changing, moved by advancements in technology, the rise and fall of religions, even by the blending of our cultures. If the root of our perceptions, traditions, hold static, then we are doomed into destructive Dogma.
'Why' is a dangerous word. It challenges old comfortable ways. Forces people to explore new ideas or speculate on facts which run contrary to bound literal orthodoxy. It's funny how people are: They question all of their beliefs except for the ones that they really believe and those they never think to question. They hide behind doctrine and words recorded in ancient scrolls, refusing to look at the alternatives. I distrust a single, exclusionary dogma.
Why is marriage necessary for anyone? Why should people marry? Marriage is not solely a covenant between a man and a woman; all animals mate and produce their young. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman on the one side and tradition on the other. People marry according to the law only to become upstanding members of the community. The one constant in all of society is that only those who obey the laws, traditions, rituals, and custom of marriage are responsible adults. To refuse marriage is to be irresponsible, a child, a criminal. Why?
Love is the only bond my lover and I need.
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