Is Marriage an absolute necessity?

Marriage yes, but why have we come to feel that we must get permission from the State? That license to marry.
Does the legalese make the commitment anymore binding?

Once upon a time about 150 years ago there was no uniform law requiring a license to marry. Then laws were passed and it suddenly it became a big social embarrassment for a man and a woman to live together without that license/permit.
Children's birth certificates carried info as to whether they were ligitamate or illigitimate. Society in general looked down upon the illigitmate child as tho he/she were a bad person, and certainly his mother was really bad.

And only in recent times, like 40 years or so ago, they quit making these designations.

We need so much to be educated on getting along. I noted when I was a teenager, the really stupid things couples argued about. Really unimportant matters became the starting point for a flaming war between them.
I never had arguments with any of my boyfriends. When I got married we had arguments - 3 of them. And I said to myself, this is really stupid, and I quit argueing with him. When something set him off, I let him rant.
If there was any matter that I thought important I brought it up later when he was feeling better. I had no liking for sitting thru his hour long ravings, so I finally packed and left.

Marriage yes, but why have we come to feel that we must get permission from the State? That license to marry.

Absolutely true. I don't think that my love for anybody should be dependant on whether my government approves it or not. But there are many countries in the world where you don't have to take an agreement from the government,instead,you can just perform the tieing of the knot wherever you want and intimate the relatives.

we are social animals, so some form of bonding/marriage was in the cards.

for those who emphasis the economics of the relationship...
the modern marriage bubble also can include "Pre-Nuptuial Agreements".


I'm of the side that says the brainwashing of society to accept/desire
the institution (in the eyes of the law)
or the sacrament (in the eyes of the Church)

that is called 'Marriage' ...is just a tool for social control.


whatever path you take, single or wed, walk honorably & deal with the consequences

Marriage is just a cultural tradition. It's not logical or necessary. You can just as easily move in with someone and live out your lives the same way as a married couple would.

Besides, divorce is so common these days, what's the point? Why bother getting married if you aren't really committing. People say "until death do us part" but they don't mean squat. It's just words. When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, most don't have what it takes for a real commitment and they'll leave their spouse at the first sign of trouble.

Am I bitter? Naaaaahhhh....

Marriage, as a legal contract, is a necessity, especially where children are involved.
I have always thought that marriage licenses should be renewed every five years. In fact, in California a marriage over 5 years is considered long term for divorce proceedings, which makes a huge difference. (So those of you in CA thinking of divorce, consider that! I know people who have petitioned for divorce 3 months after that date, and it can be hell!)
Because a family member decided to marry after years living without a legal contract, it saved her legal rights to disposition of property after her spouse died and there was a legal proceeding from a former wife.

On the other hand, my second marriage has truly been a blessing. Although we would not need to go through a marriage ceremony for spiritual reasons, we went through the Tunnel of Love (Little White Chapel) in Las Vegas as a great fun thing to do. Still, without a marriage contract, we would have had to come up with some legal contract for disposition of property.

Marriage is not for everyone. But if you do want to have another person involved with you long term, get a marriage license.

Taking it from the personal perspective and into the wider implications marriage has on society. I believe, while it's stupid to make blanket judgements, marriage does help to bring about social cohesiveness. I do think there is a link between some of the social problems we have and the lack of stable two parent families raising children, that's not an attack on single parent families per se I hasten to add but some of our institutions came about for a reason and marriage was one of them. It helps stabilise and formalise both union and family units very well.