Banning divorce??? Whaddaya think?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

As a fundy-whack-job-born-again-christian-type (have been called all of them and by some of the best people on this board :-) ) I have been seriously looking over the whole gay/lesbian marriage thing. And you know...I just don't give a flying rip about the whole thing. Is there any consensus here that if us whack-jobs are so concerned about protecting the sanctity of marriage that we might make it a little more difficult to divorce or even marry in the first place? I know of several states that require a 'cooling off' period between separation and divorce...meaning, that after a legal separation is started there is some mandatory time before a divorce can be filed. Is this a good idea? To protect marriage, shouldn't we make it about MARRIAGE and not WHO is getting married?

</fundy-rant>
theProdigal

[ixion]

1. it's always bothered me

that it is extremely easy to get married, and extremely difficult to divorce.

I was married once, and really, it seems to me that a marriage is more about a deal with the Government than with anything else. In the end, it seems like a scam. It defintely shouldn't be a consideration for an amendment though. :eyes:

[jmowreader]

2. They don't give a rip about "protecting marriage"

If they did, it would be mandatory pre-marriage counseling, two weeks "cooling off" period between issuing the license and conducting the ceremony...but no, it's all about banning gay marriage.

Britney Spears did more damage to the institution of marriage than any two gay guys could have ever done. And not only is she straight, she's Republican.

[1monster]

3. But, but....

then only Republicans (and high up ones at that) could get divorces! The rest of us would have to suffer through bad marriages without even the fantasy of divorce court!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. I'm torn on this one.

Let me first say, I think the actions of all you straight folks(being a smartass here) are about the WORST defense of marriage there is.

Be that as it may, I don't support leaving a person financially entangled with an abusive spouse...so in spite of my secret desire to punish even the more liberal or moderate spectrum of the voting population for not standing UP for my rights in the matter, I most probaly would not favor outlawing divorce but WOULD favor making a marriage license much more difficult to get given how much in court fees it costs me as a taxpayer to ferret out your relationship difficulties.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

7. good to see you

and I think you are on the right track...a bunch of us straight-folk have made a mockery of marriage. I just don't understand where and when and how it became such an issue all of a sudden.

In the book of Malachi God states that he HATES divorce. There is very little that God HATES (meaning the strength of the condemnation). Why is it so simple for the upstanding Christian to look this verse 'in the eye' and simply pass it off and yet FREAK out over some of the other...selective scripture belief/interpretation is the height of hypocrisy...

</second-fundy-rant>
theProdigal

edit for poor grammar and spelling but no promises that is correct now

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. And of course in the new testament (at least as far as this Jew can tell)

it states "what god has put together, let no man put asunder." I suggest we get our shovels out and start filling the Suez and Panama canals with dirt...there's been nothing but war since man took apart what God put together (but I guess that's for another thread) :D

But how do you know satan didn't introduce you to your mate?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

10. a house divided cannot stand...

and thus Satan would not have brought such biblically sanctioned joy into my life... :-)

<---looking for that other thread :-)

theProdigal

[Skidmore]

14. As a person who has been tangled up with an

abusive spouse previously, I don't want it to go back to the way it used to be. I do think that it should be harder to get married than it is. It used to be more difficult.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

15. I think people had a better understanding of what

marriage is. Today, many people seem to be under the impression that marriage is all love and roses and bubble baths and all that jazz. No one seems to realize that there are bills and housework and possibly dirty diapers...how can this not be apparent? Is the media (or some other entity) responsible for glamorizing marriage to the point that our perception of it is so far from reality?

theProdigal

[1monster]

17. I got married for the first time at age 35

and nearly thirteen years later, I am still married to the same guy. Unmitigated bliss? Well, no, but we manage.

And I was just joking about the fantasy of divorce court. I've seen too many divorces that caused anger, grief, and court appearance (visitation, custody, more money, etc.) for eighteen years.

I believe that divorce should be, crazy as it sounds, a unifying event where the couple divorcing do their damned best to make the separation as painless possible for each other and for their offspring instead of fighting each other over anything and everything.

The current method of making the soon to be uncouple adversaries and even enemies is damaging to everyone involved. And the two people once loved each other enough to want to spend the rest of their lives together... There are usually some warmer feelings still left between the couple before divorce court, but, believe me, by the time the lawyers and judges get done with the process, the same couple will most likely hate the sight of each other...

[onecitizen]

5. That should make the gun industry..........

happy!

[Terwilliger]

6. Nahhhh.....how about mandating compatibility before marriage?

How about being forced to take some written tests....couples counseling and testing...financial prospects.

How about making it impossible for people to get married unless they're absolutely sure?

You wouldn't need to ban divorce, then.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

8. heck yeah on the counseling...

my wife and I spent over a month in pre-marital counseling and still go for a 'check-up' about once every six months. This way, we keep a level view of our relationship and get wonderful outside vision into what is good/bad/ugly...

I really don't want to BAN divorce...just used that because of all the hype around banning gay/lesbian marriage!

theProdigal

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. That's what I've wondered

I think it would be a good idea to make sure people realize what marriage entails before they tie the knot. There are some high schools that have a 'life' program where couples are paired off and have to keep a budget, figure out what to do if they have a baby, etc. I think that would be good training for people.

My parents were divorced, and I know the pain that can cause. But I'd hate to see divorce outlawed because there are times when it is the only option available. I married for the first and only time at age 38, and am still married. Perhaps delaying marriage for some would be good-but all that is very individual, too.

[Lisaben2619]

12. Marriage isn't good enough for me

I understand why many gay/lesbian activists feel that a civil union is "less than" marriage; but, quite frankly, for my partner and me it seems like way too trite of a thing to get married. Britney's already been mentioned here, then there's the Bachelor, the Bachlorette, the Big Fat Bridegroom or whatever on TV, Liz Taylor, Polygamist Mormons, and on and on. Straight people have pretty much made a mockery out of marriage, especially when most of them end in divorce.

I'd be happy with a civil union and even more happy if the fundies would use all this money they're raising in order to change the Constitution to pay for marriage counseling instead. I've been in a monogamous, happy, lesbian relationship for 17 years. I want her to be able to get in my hospital room should there be an emergency and to be the one who decides when it's time to pull the plug or to get time off work to sit at my deathbed. But I don't want her to be "my little woman" or "my better half." Jeez.

[kskiska]

13. I'm old enough to remember when it was very, very difficult

to get a divorce. Back in the 50s it was common for people to say, "My husband/wife won't give me a divorce." Both parties had to agree, in many states. In New York state, the only grounds for divorce was adultery, so the two parties would agree to hire a private detective who would arrange a raid on a fake tryst at a hotel. Another ploy was for the wife to move to Nevada (special lodging for these women was available) to establish 6 weeks residency, and would then be granted a divorce.

[Democrats unite]

16. Anyone remember King Henry VIII?

There are ways around divorce.

[skippysmom]

18. Divorce is certainly a bigger "threat" to marriage than gay marriage

But the libertarian streak in me is a little wary of mandating pre-marital counseling. Who would determine whether a couple was ready to get married? Your local town clerk? Your governor? The Bush family?

I think "waiting periods" for divorce would be detrimental to people in bad (read: abusive) situations. Perhaps a waiting period for getting a marriage license? When we got married in Mass. we had to wait 3 days after getting the license -- it could be made longer.

I don't have a solution, though.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

20. sure...just shoot down my ideas without any of your own

:-)

This is definitely a sticky situation. One thing I think that might help is to get rid of divorces for irreconcilable differences. Sure, there are several situation where a quick divorce would be in the best interests of, say, someone who is being abused or the spouse whose infidelities or recklessness with finances cannot be stopped. But, just getting divorced because you 'feel like it' is no better than getting married on a whim...

There is a solution here somewhere...but preventing gays/lesbians from marrying is not the way IMHO to protect marriage...

theProdigal

[skippysmom]

23. sorry prodigal!

No easy answers are coming to mind, I'm afraid.

:shrug:

[ProdigalJunkMail]

24. just ribbin' ya!

this one makes a lot of people shrug...

theProdigal

[DrWeird]

19. Are you forgetting the "Republican Revolution?!"

The whack-jobs who are against gay marraiges were actual FOR banning divorces.

This, of course, is in addition to sending children on welfare to orphanages, whether their parents are dead or not.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

21. apparently I am fogetting...

did the contract with america actually seek to ban divorce? Or was that tucked under the GOP platform somewhere?

Banning divorce would certainly not be the answer...but making it a little more difficult to get married might be the beginnings of a solution.

theProdigal

[DrWeird]

41. Wasn't part of the"contract".

But there was a lot of GOP chatter about banning no fault divorce.

[ComerPerro]

22. I don't think making divorce illegal is right, understandibly

Some people are completely incompatible.

But I appreciate what you are saying, and I like your point.

I think the thing that really needs to be addressed here is that fundies and the reich wing doesn't give a shit about the scanctity of marriage. I think we should bring up that maybe if marriage is so holy and pure (as they insist) they sould make moves to make divorce illegal.

We need to expose that, with these psychotics, it isn't about marriage being a sacred institution. Its about their religion (which shouldn't impact laws in this country) and their blatent homophobia.


I am glad you still post here, Prodigal.

BTW, do you still have friends that are hardcore conservative? I notice you mention that you don't "give a rip" about who marries who. I think that is a good stance, and I am wondering how many Republicans feel that way. It seems that a lot of the people so opposed to issues of gay marriage have their viewpoints because they are the standard talking points.

I would be curious to know just how many Republicans actually think a loving gay couple getting married would hurt them. How could it possibly dishonor their own marriage any more than what Britney Spears and countless others do in Vegas every weekend?

Anyway, thanks for bringing it up.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

27. glad to still be here

and hope living up to William's legacy...anywho...

Yes, I have many friends who are hardcore conservatives and people who are more religious (while strangely not more spiritual) than I. There is an interesting dichotomy in the people I hang with...I find some of the more 'christian' of the group leaning more towards a 'live and let live' attitude coupled with a belief that the government really shouldn't get involved with restricting what they see as a religious rite. Intelligently, they see that this sort of infringement could eventually come to settle on them in some future way unforseen. The less christian of the group seem to be up in arms about the whole thing with the 'it'll destroy the fabric of the family' and 'soon you could marry your dog' arguments.

Oh, well, go figure...
theProdigal

[ComerPerro]

35. Yeah, I love that argument!

"Well, if we redefine marriage so that two men can marry each other, what next? What if I want to marry a cow? Or my dog?"

My response is: You sick fuck. Why do you want to marry your dog?

LOL

[Habibi]

46. "living up to William's legacy"

(OT, sorry.)

You do him proud, never fear. I hope the sense of loss has lessened for you.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

60. it has...it seems I find him here

everytime I come and post or just read. Things that he and I used to discuss at length and sometimes even argue over are seen here daily!

Thanks for the kind words and wishes...
theProdigal

[PVnRT]

25. Well, it would be consistent

I mean, defending the "sanctity" of marriage and all...too bad the fundies aren't consistent about that. I could at least sort of respect their position on this issue then, though still disagree vehemently.

[greatauntoftriplets]

26. "Divorce, Italian Style"

This was the title of a movie back in the 1960s or 1970s, when divorce was still outlawed in Italy. It was a comedy, but it consisted of unhappy partners trying to bump their mates off.

Perhaps the fundies want us to have that kind of option, though it'll play hell with the murder rate.

[Cleita]

33. The truth is like my family in Chile.

No divorce is still allowed there. So my grandmother was pushed into an arranged marriage with a much older man when she was sixteen. She had two sons, but she fell in love with a man she ran away with, never to see her sons again because the jilted family would never let her near them again. She had two children with the new guy who jilted her and left her with two small children. She eventually meets my grandfather, who is much younger than her and marries him without bothering to tell him she is married to the first guy. Two more children later including my mother, she and my grandfather split up amicably.

The story doesn't end here though. My grandfather marries another woman without bothering to tell her he's married. (At this time he doesn't know my grandmother was a bigamist.)This happens after my mother got married and I was born. He has several children with this woman when she finds out he had another family. She comes and apologizes to my mother who informs her that she is legally married because the marriage with her mother was bigamy. Everybody is happy except my father who forbids my mother to every let me know my grandfather.

So what happens is that I have eight aunts who are younger than me and who don't know that my mother and I are relatives. I knew my grandfather as the postmaster in the town I lived in but never knew he was my grandfather until after he died and my mother confessed. There are those two uncles of mine who don't know they have more family and relatives.

So, I think I will take divorce any day. At least everyone knows who is whom.

[alittlelark]

45. WOW, and I thought my American-made family

was whacked. Have you thought about writing a screenplay or book??

[Cleita]

47. Actually I have because most Americans are dumbfounded

when I tell them this, but my American family is just as wacked. I had an aunt who had a cat circus with a traveling carnival and also filled in as a hoochie coochie dancer when needed. Since the religious members of the family were Southern Baptists, you can imagine how they felt about this when one of the male members of the clan caught her act.

[Habibi]

48. "filled in as a hootchi cootchi dancer when needed"

What I wouldn't give to have something like *that* on my resume!

[Cleita]

28. Back to the fifties again I see?

You see back then only movies stars and other rich people could afford the luxury of a divorce. Anyone of the proletariat who got divorced were pretty much shunned by society, the wife was regarded a slut, the man a failure and the children hopeless juvenile delinquents because even if they weren't, they would eventually end up that way without a father in the house.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

30. come now...

I am really not for banning divorce...I just want to see how people can justify the 'let's stop loving homosexuals from marrying to protect marriage' stance when Britney (sp?) can get married and annulled in one drunken fit and no one really seems to care.

I know that there is a place for divorce...there are people I know who truly tried and tried to make their relationship work and then for the SAKE of their children got divorced and everyone is happier now...and even friendly.

theProdigal

[Cleita]

36. Not everyone can do a Brittany.

Yes, it makes a revered insitution look cheap, but really considering the wedding location and the bride and groom, could it be anything else?

I always thought it should be easy to get divorced and hard to get married, like a cooling off period between marriage license and wedding with a lot of marriage and parenting classes to complete as part of the license requirement.

Then if it doesn't work out, just work out the property settlement and child custody problems, but please make it as easy as possible.

Or how about a marriage contract for X number of years providing there are no children involved, to be renewed when expired or the participants can go their own way. Having children would complicate this of course.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

38. hot damn...I agree with you on something

:-)

I don't know about the contract because people would wiggle out of that just as easily as marriage currently...but YES, there has got to be a way to make people aware of the realities of marriage and maybe a class of some sort might be in order.

Our church (non-denominational) required counseling prior to marriage (at least marriage performed in the church). We knew a lot of stuff going in, but the counseling sessions really open our eyes to a few things that had been 'put aside' in the pursuit of our marriage goal.

Thanks for your input!!!
theProdigal

[shimmergal]

55. Hey, as a Vegas resident may I gently chide you about

"considering the marriage location."

It's true, you can get married here like Brittany, just on the spur of the moment and without any serious forethought.

But I've meet lots of couples who've had Las Vegas weddings, and whose marriages have lasted for years. Sometimes they bring a whole
bunch of relatives, figuring even doing that is cheaper--and more fun for all concerned--than paying for the big production they'd be expected to put on at home.
A lot of them are second marriages, who want to do something memorable but not like the first.
And then there are local residents who have weddings here in the time honored way.
BTW, most of the wedding chapels also do commitment ceremonies for gay couples (these don't have legal impact, but a fair number of gay couples like to do it anyway).

[kskiska]

37. I remember the 50s. There was a divorcée in my neighborhood

with two children. She dared to have a social life and was watched by everyone from behind their curtains every time a date brought her home. I was friends with her kids. It was rough for them, though their grandmother lived with them. She was the only divorced person in my neighborhood.

[Cleita]

39. My best friend's mother divorced her father.

He moved out and her grandmother moved in to help look after her and her brother. Her mother, who was a nurse, went back to work, whisper, whisper...leaving those kids alone. She met a doctor at work, whisper, whisper...dating other men when there are children. Teenagers were forbidden to babysit for them because their parents didn't want their teenaged girls getting ideas that it was okay to carry on that way.

My friend took a tremendous amount of cruel taunting at school for not having a father living at home anymore. Eventually, her mother married the doctor and they moved away.

[DrWeird]

43. Uh, perhaps I'm mistaken.

I was under the impression that the highest recorded rates of divorce in this country happened during the early fifties; mostly due to the war.

[Cleita]

44. Could be. I don't have any stats. All I know is that in my area very

few working class people divorced and those that did were treated like social outcasts. Single mothers were especially reviled unless they were widows.

[kskiska]

52. Same here. It would seem that there would be divorces post WWII

but in my experience, in my neighborhood as a kid, I can only point to one divorcée. People seemed to be settling into post-war housing and raising families. I'll bet there were lots of divorces in the late 50s, when the bloom was off the rose. A lot of those guys who served in the war came home quite different people than those who left, and I'm sure it took a toll on their marriages. My parents married in 1941, and my dad enlisted. He spent a year in a German POW camp, and didn't get home till 1945. My mother said he used to have dizzy spells and pass out. They divorced about 1960.

[spooky3]

29. as someone who's been through an amicable but sad divorce

(we even used the same attorney) I believe the govt. should stay out of the process of both marriage and divorce as much as possible.

What I would like to see is a society that does not encourage people to marry as much as this one does. I would like to see more tolerance of single as well as married or long term partner lifestyles. Not all people are cut out for marriage (or they may have difficulty finding the right partners), yet I think people feel that they are very much disapproved of by the rest of society if they don't marry or stay in long term relationships. As a result I think people feel that if they don't couple up, they will be alone forever, and they are largely correct, because that's what most other people are doing, so there are few available partners once one is past the 20s or 30s. People then get into bad marriages or stay in them and commit adultery while lying to their spouses, then someone is badly hurt. Good marriages should be respected and good lives that do not involve marriage should also be respected.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

32. good points...

thanks for sharing...gives me something else to think about and converse with friends about!

theProdigal

[smirkymonkey]

54. Beautifully put!

Especially the part about "good lives that do not involve marraige should also be respected."

I am a single, straight woman who has absolutely no interest in having a family of my own. A relationship is fine, but marriage, to me seems like more trouble than it is worth. Also, I really like my space and time alone, and don't know if I would want someone else around all the time.

Luckily, I live in a large city where this is not looked upon as strange, but when I go back home to visit the family - in an area where everyone is married with kids, whether they want to be or not, I am looked at as this pathetic, lonely person. I am anything but!!

I think there should be a "Freedom Not To Marry" Act! :)

[fromthegroundup]

31. Marriage

I don't understand why the issue has been broken down to sexuality.
Since when has marriage ONLY been about sex? Perhaps in our insanely sexual culture straight people have forgotten the true meaning of relationships, which seems a probable explanation for the insane divorce rate. If 2 people want to live together and support one another for the rest of their lives, they should be able to do so AND be recognized as equals by the law.

My aunt once told me years ago that Christians teach that masturbation is a sin because during whatever lengthy wars Christians have engaged in historically, the leaders wanted to make sure their people keep reproducing. Can't have a mighty superpower without lots and lots of people. Just thought it was an interesting perspective, and kind of applies if you're trying to keep procreation as the principle purpose behind marriage.

And finally, I've met entirely too many young people who are intent on living out the American program. Graduate highschool, go to college, meet your mate, get the job, by the house, the cars, start making kids, and realize a couple years in (maybe) he/she wants to be single, bar hopping, partying, and hooking up. Let kids be kids, relationships can wait.

[Kanary]

49. Hi, fromthegroundup!

Welcome to DU!

:hi: :hi: :hi:

:toast:

Kanary

[SalParadise]

34. Considering 30% of Protestants are divorced...

that'll never happen, then they'd be hypocrites.

What they need to do is to promote Atheism, their divorce rate is 20% - you could prolly do it for a lot less than 1.5 billion dollars as well!

[VOX]

40. If you ban divorce, country music will lose its lyrical inspiration!

:evilgrin:

[ProdigalJunkMail]

42. well, you still got cheatin' and drinkin'

and ridin' the rodeo and tractors...hell, there is a veritable cornucopia of remaining lyrical inspiration...

theProdigal

[VOX]

57. An' don't forgit ridin' on trains and doin' time in prison...

:toast: :hi:

[ProdigalJunkMail]

59. and, oh yeah, mama

and dogs and....

:toast: back at ya

[BiggJawn]

50. Please don't make it retro-active!

I couldn't STAND living with her again!

[VOX]

58. Amen! I'm on my 2nd marriage (good). Would I have to return to #1 (bad)?

Or would I stay married to #2 also, and therefore be a half-happy polygamist?

[BiggJawn]

63. I should clarify...Neither one!

"Two-time loser" here.....:-(

"Alas, but for he loved not 'two' wisely, but 'two' well....."

[loyalsister]

51. It's being tried in a roundabout way

HB 799 -- Covenant Marriage
"This bill establishes an alternative to a traditional marriage
called a covenant marriage. A covenant marriage requires
premarital counseling and limits the spouses' ability to legally
separate or dissolve the marriage." http://www.house.state.mo.us/bills041/bilsum/intro/sHB799I.htm

If I remember right, this guy has had two wives leave him and is taking it out on the Legislature.

[kskiska]

53. I guess what it all boils down to

is that you can't legislate people's emotions. Would it be better to limit divorce and have everyone fooling around on the side? That might suit lots of people just fine. Someone like Scott Peterson, maybe.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

61. i definitely see your point

but why even have marriage then? I know that question has been raised a couple of times on this board and elsewhere to be sure. I know you cannot legislate emotions or morality; that is very apparent when it is tried. But at what point does marriage really become a farce? Right now I would say it is pretty close.

When my wife and I got hitched we very seriously took the 'til death do us part' ideal. We were forced (through premarital counseling) to really consider some of the downsides and would you be willing to stick it out with this person should those downsides become a reality. We had some hard thinking to do. And you know, it has probably saved us on more than one occasion. The counseling and those considerations really helped to set our expectations to an appropriate level. I think that is what is missing...

Good to have your input! Thanks!
theProdigal

[shimmergal]

56. Sorry, I've got a little different of a take on this.

I _don't_ think divorce should be made harder. People just lie then, and get divorced anyway. I was divorced in 1969 in Indiana, before there was "no fault" divorce. We had to pick the least disreputable "grounds" which was "cruelty", including "mental cruelty." I didn't have any trouble with mine because my husband and I were both in accord about trying to get on with our lives, but some people were tied up in litigation for years and had to say really awful things about their soon-to-be ex-spouse.

I suppose there's no harm in having a waiting period before marriage,
or counseling/classes, but I don't think it would have a major impact.
What sounds nice & reasonable when you're so dewy-eyed in love isn't likely to be look so good if things get rough. When both members of a couple are determined to work on their marriages and go back to counseling it can really help. But lots of people are intrinsically opposed to counseling and "all that psychological crap" and even if they go, aren't likely to act on it. What do you do then?

Here are a couple of modest suggestions that might help a little.


Talk about the obligations of marriage, publicly in forums like this as well as in pastoral counseling. In all the discussions I've read
at DU, the emphasis has been on the "rights" that marriage confers and not the obligations. I know, obligations is a "downer" word, but people need to think about it. Especially they need to be reminded that, even if their marriage doesn't last forever, their obligations to any children they have--or adopt--do.

Just because we call marriage "sacred" doesn't mean they all are. NO I'm not talking only about cases like Britney's and How to Marry a
Millionaire, although they probably fall here. All of us have seen marriages where one person's wishes and personality were squashed, let alone those with violence and abuse. Now it's true nobody knows for sure what goes on in a marriage except the participants, but
sociologically a marriage is "made" by the recognition of the community. Religiously, in my denomination (Episcopalian) the sacrament of marriage is performed by the couple, in the presence of God. It's technically not even necessary to have the priest or witnesses, although of course it's almost always done. Well, if this is true, only God knows for sure if the marriage is "sacred."

I would like to see more people speak out and say they don't consider certain marriages sacred, using examples of behavior if not the names of real people.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

62. good points, all

someone previously pointed out the house bill that would essentially create a 'covenant marriage' and while the idea sounds good, that is what marriage is already supposed to be.

After reading most of the responses here it would seem that most people are not in favor of more difficult divorce, but more difficult or more well considered marriage. I think I agree...if people would really take the time to examine their desire and motives for getting married, things might be a lot different!

Thanks for the input...
theProdigal

[Az]

64. Yes, the government should be in the business of telling us how to live

The government is the only body able to enforce our society. It should have full control of telling us how to live and who is good and who is evil.

First thing we need to do is come up with a list of approved forms of happiness. Once we establish this list we can actually enforce the pursuit of happiness. Anyone not seeking an approved form of happiness can be reeducated until they see the light.

Next we need to establish some guidelines on who you can associate with. Can't let the people be influenced by those kinds of people. Best if we protect them by limiting the numbers and kind of people that can get together for any reason.

Next on the list is a little more tricky. No bad thoughts. This is going to be a bit more invasive. We may have to hook people up to some sort of machine so their thoughts can be scanned. Can't have people harboring negative thoughts now.

</sarcasm-off>

[ProdigalJunkMail]

65. gimme a break, AZ

next time someone tries to make a point about hypocrisy of the gay marriage issue by twisting it as I have I will be sure to look for your brand of sarcasm. The whole point of the post was to get some of the more religious of us to really think about 'protecting marriage' and the joke that is already made of it by the way it is treated by the hetero-crowd.

Thanks for your sarcasm...it was very helpful as sarcasm usually is.
theProdigal