tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532639.post112350247057825820..comments2023-07-01T18:23:22.880+08:00Comments on A leaf from the book of my life: The Odd CoupleDerekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687038699686567647noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532639.post-1123748021610390182005-08-11T16:13:00.000+08:002005-08-11T16:13:00.000+08:00derek - heehee...dunlah post such provocative topi...derek - heehee...dunlah post such provocative topics. <BR/><BR/>as you can tell, i get all pseudo-intellectual and stuffy. :)Spothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07295768845774915250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532639.post-1123739657877109932005-08-11T13:54:00.000+08:002005-08-11T13:54:00.000+08:00I have been wanting to write What is Marriage? - a...I have been wanting to write <I>What is Marriage?</I> - after writing <I>What is Sex?</I> - for some time. Maybe I should do just that shortly.<BR/><BR/>In brief there are several dimensions/perspectives in marriage, namely physical, legal, social, religious, psychological, spiritual, etc.<BR/><BR/>But to me the true meaning in marriage is a <I>message</I>, ie something that points to a greater reality, even beyond this world.<BR/><BR/>It is like a letter is not about the letter itself, but of the concepts, ideas, thoughts, emotions, etc conveyed in the symbols and media that make the letter. And no one remembers the colour of the paper nor the ink used in the letter after reading it. So it is with marriage too.<BR/><BR/>And further marriage is just another example of analogical reasoning in Nature - and animals dont marry, only humans do.<BR/><BR/>Philosophically there is no necessity for analogical reasoning to be valid at all. The fact it is, reveals something about Nature itself, namely its teleology.<BR/><BR/>This big-picture perspective reveals other truths about marriage that cannot be discerned by looking at it from ground level.<BR/><BR/>More in details later.Espionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17914504174860728587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532639.post-1123555903491440962005-08-09T10:51:00.000+08:002005-08-09T10:51:00.000+08:00the principle behind what they're doing is no diff...the principle behind what they're doing is no different from that relied on by straight people who get hitched so that one of them gets a visa to stay in the country (eg, QAF Lindsey and french guy). <BR/><BR/>and if you believe what you see in movies (and i MUST snerk at this), this "green card marriage" thing is oh so common.<BR/><BR/>certainly with their declaration of "taking it all the way", their intentions are suspect. yet, they do have a point. <BR/><BR/>they're just utilising the legal framework of marriage. tax breaks and other socio-economic benefits of marriage are practical considerations for anyone, gay or straight. as you correctly point out, for the gay movement, being denied of access to these benefits is one of the biggest issues.<BR/><BR/>what's good for the goose, is good for the gander. the funny thing here is how it's being demonstrated two-fold.<BR/><BR/>marriage, the institution, is a legal construct. society and legislators saw fit to bestow economic benefits upon members of this institution as a means of promoting the legitimacy that the piece of paper confers. <BR/><BR/>that people, gay or straight, should wise up to how the system can be abused, is only inevitable.<BR/><BR/>what's being made a mockery of is not this legal institution called marriage. <BR/><BR/>it's commitment.Spothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07295768845774915250noreply@blogger.com