RE: Marriage discrimination struck down in Arkansas.
May 12, 2014 at 12:39 am
(This post was last modified: May 12, 2014 at 12:40 am by FlyingNarwhal.)
(May 11, 2014 at 5:58 pm)kılıç_mehmet Wrote:(May 11, 2014 at 5:43 pm)FlyingNarwhal Wrote: Mehmet you said that traditions change via majority consensus. Therefore if the majority (straight people I assume) decide that gay marriage is fine with them, then by your standards is gay marriage acceptable?Well, in such a hypothetical case, acceptablility would not be my call, that's what I'm saying. However, that would mean that the majority would have to invent new traditions, which would need to take hold over certain generations. Traditions do not change overnight, especially traditions concerning marriage, having been shaped by centuries.
Just curious.
They form the basis of social institutions that constitute the pillars of society.
However, I don't think that such a hypothetical case will ever be reality, as what you're advocating here is, in my opinion, quite radically opposed to the traditions that define marriage, and therefore society, you'd need to destroy these traditions completely to actually redifine the concept of marriage in the majority's mind.
This is a snippet from Wikipedia on same sex marriage in my state:
Now in my state same sex marriage was legalized by judicial ruling, but polls have shown that the majority of the population supports it anyways, by a wide berth in the most recent poll. 60% want to keep it legal versus 29% that want it to be illegal, and 11% can't form opinions. But that is a 31% difference between legalized same sex marriage and illegal same sex marriage.
And this is the direction that the rest of my country is heading towards, and has been heading towards for decades at this point. Even in the past, when acceptance of same sex marriage was in the minority, it was still on an upward trend. Is it not possible that this is the invention of a new system of traditions that has started several decades ago? The idea of a traditional marriage has already been destroyed in this country. Higher and higher divorce rates, more children born to non-married parents, more people choosing not to marry at all yet remain in monogamous relationships, these issues have plagued what was once called traditional marriage. I think marriage isn't looked at with the same reverence that it once was, and now one of the main reasons for marrying someone isn't the symbolic and ceremonial aspect anymore, but has more to do with the legal benefits you acquire with respect to your spouse.
Anyways I think, in my country at least, that we are on the precipice of a shift in the conventional traditions. I don't agree with your opinion that this will cause an ultimate collapse of society though. I think if you look at the history of the human race you'll find that many traditions (including but not limited to marriage) have made numerous shifts, changes, and complete metamorphoses all without the complete collapse of society.
