Saturday, July 25, 2009

Love and Marriage

I read an article in the paper this morning about marriage and how frail that insitution has become. I believe this is, in part, due to the redefinition of "love". Love used to be considered an act of will; it was something you had to do. At some point, it became an emotion; something you feel. The problem with the idea of love as an emotion is that emotions are fragile and fleeting; you either feel them or you don't and what you feel today you may not feel tommorow. It is inevitable that your feelings toward another will change with time and circumstance. Will, on the other hand, is not an emotion, it is the product of determination and as such, is less fleeting and fragile than any emotion. The notion of love as an overwhelming emotion, while popular in literature and film, can be dangerous, and even fatal, to marriage. After the emotion of love recedes, if the will is not there to maintain the marriage, it is likely that the marriage will be viewed as a burden rather than a blessing. This is my opinion anyway....

1 comment:

Agrippa said...

A great source of irritation for me is when liberals and celebrities chastize conservatives for their perceived lack of compassion. Clearly, celebrities do not see the irony of attending charity galas or awards shows wearing gowns and suits, and sporting jewelry that could feed and support an untold number of poor for a year. How many of them are content to simply write checks or vote Democrat to alleviate their sense of guilt for having so much while many have so little? How many, after making an appearence at some soup kitchen or downtrodden neiborhood, are whisked away in their limos to their posh estates after publicly demonstrating their "compassion"? How many liberals are content in thinking that, because they support liberal candidates and policies, they have met their obligation to the poor?They do not realize that they are more like Scrooge than then they would care to admit. Scrooge felt the existance of poorhouses and orphanages relieved him of his obligation to help the poor. To his mind, simply paying his taxes was enough. Like Scrooge, many liberals feel their obligation to the poor and downtrodden is met through their support of the Democratic party because of its advocacy for public programs and assistance. This allows them to get on about their lives feeling morally superior to conservatives; even as they roll up their window against the panhandler at the intersection.