Re: Should Civil Unions Be Legalized?
When in reality, historically and in most cultures, love of any kind sexual or otherwise, was not the basis for marriage. Marriage was not, in its origin, religious. It was a civil contract to consolidate resources and power between families. To some extent, it was true that marriages encouraged procreation because that was part of the binding of people into the gathering of resources and power ~ my father and your father are feuding and settle the feud. How do they try to ensure that the feud really stays settled? By having their children marry each other so that they become one family and then would be less likely to attack each other. The marriage would solidify the alliance. Even in Hawaii's history, Hawaii's royalty tried to strengthen the country of Hawaii by trying to arrange a marriage of Princess Kaiulani and Prince Yorihito of Japan thus creating an alliance between the countries (not that Hawaii and Japan were feuding, but they were considering the inter-marriage as a way of strengthening Hawaii). However, it would be erroneous to say that "the good of the children" was the focal point and driving force behind marriage ~ considering that children were traditionally considered "chattel" with no rights or protections of their own until fairly recently.
When in reality, historically and in most cultures, love of any kind sexual or otherwise, was not the basis for marriage. Marriage was not, in its origin, religious. It was a civil contract to consolidate resources and power between families. To some extent, it was true that marriages encouraged procreation because that was part of the binding of people into the gathering of resources and power ~ my father and your father are feuding and settle the feud. How do they try to ensure that the feud really stays settled? By having their children marry each other so that they become one family and then would be less likely to attack each other. The marriage would solidify the alliance. Even in Hawaii's history, Hawaii's royalty tried to strengthen the country of Hawaii by trying to arrange a marriage of Princess Kaiulani and Prince Yorihito of Japan thus creating an alliance between the countries (not that Hawaii and Japan were feuding, but they were considering the inter-marriage as a way of strengthening Hawaii). However, it would be erroneous to say that "the good of the children" was the focal point and driving force behind marriage ~ considering that children were traditionally considered "chattel" with no rights or protections of their own until fairly recently.
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