Re: OT:Thanksgiving

"Howard Brazee" <howard@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:sk7bl3tcdptjvkssllf9curb4m5bsumsn9@xxxxxxxxxx
On Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:52:50 -0500, SkippyPB
<swiegand@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Why did the state have to create this institution we call "marriage,"
anyway? This is an honest question: since most states DO have such an
institution, I assume there must be a reason for it; but damned if I can
figure out just what that reason might be.

Estate planning?

Other legal partnerships exist with the same kind of issues.

Estate planning? I think you call those documents "wills."

Anyway, for all the legal stuff either you can "marry" or execute mutual
durable power of attorney documents. (And for all I know the legal fees for
that would be less than the cost of a "marriage" license).

My best guess as to why the state got into the marriage business is that is
was always considered a Good Thing for a Nation-State to have a larger
population.... and since the majority of citizens/subjects don't procreate
except when "married" it made sense for the nation-state to encourage
procreation by encouraging "marriage."

Then again, I am someone who honestly believes women are born with a
"shopping" gene, so perhaps I might lack a tad of credibility on "things
factual."

No, really, I do! I think it's a vestige of our days as hunter-gatherers.
While men were the primary hunters, women were the primary gatherers; to be
a good gatherer, selecting the most nutritious roots and berries required
the gatherers be able to distinguish "Good Value" from "Bad Value" among
large collections of things which look pretty much alike.

And which of the gatherers and their families survived to become our
great-great-great {yadda, yadda more greats] grandparents? Those who HAD the
ability to make good nutritional value selections!

It's not really such a great leap from "selecting the best nutritional value
from a bunch of roots which look more or less the same" to "selecting the
best fashion value from a bunch of blouses which look more or less the
same," is it?

MCM
(And don't anyone even try to tell me today's women don't hunt and gather!)




.

Relevant Pages