Where the Best Lines Come From

Hilarious. Our own Nim has discovered that the Box Turtle line probably originated with commenter Kev at Ben's old place:

"No one cares if you get married. You shouldn't care if anyone else does."

Actually, lots of people care if you get married, just like lots of people cared that Ben got married (how big was that wedding again?). They care because your faux marriage sends the exact wrong message to my kids, and to all children. You are sending the message that your "lifestyle choice" is morally acceptable, that two men with rings are no different than a man and a woman. Those marriages in Massachusetts are now teaching the next generation of Americans that marriage has nothing to do with childbirth or family or society or community... that marriage is solely an expression of individual self-gratification... that marriage has nothing to do with childbirth and childrearing... that marriage is a package of legal benefits and a mark of social acceptance, not a holy institution that yes, started in Genesis. Those lessons are lies, and filthy ones at that.

If your hypothetical boyfriend is dying in the hospital in Massachusetts, you could visit him well before this marriage travesty began. They have a statute in Massachusetts that allows for that, just like more than half of the states. You don't need marriage to have that kind of right - it's as simple as a majority-will state law. Same with all of the other range of state-level rights. But there you go again making marriage into nothing more than an inert package of assorted benefits.

Oh, and by your straw-man measure of "changing your daily routine": it wouldn't change my daily routine a whit if you "married" a box turtle. That doesn't mean it's right.