tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post7901090664844384688..comments2023-12-28T18:17:11.191-05:00Comments on Gruntled Center: French Annul Fake Virgin's Marriage, Then Regret It.Gruntledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-85375346196564958392008-06-05T15:26:00.000-04:002008-06-05T15:26:00.000-04:00Marriage became a public institution thousands of ...Marriage became a public institution thousands of years ago when it founded civilization on the basis of sex integration and the contingency for responsible procreation. The French "public institution" amounts to state recognition of the pre-governmental social institution of marriage. That's so whether the Church's recogniton is considered the predecessor of the state's recognition.<BR/><BR/>The importance of this rests in the distinction made -- a private contract between two people versus a societal contract with two people.<BR/><BR/>A social institution is a coherent whole, not bits and pieces made endlessly opitonal and variable. So it is at odds, by its very nature, with the desire to break free of limitations and the baggage of "marriage" as it has ever been.<BR/><BR/>The "public" in public institution, in this French context, is about public consensus of what is and is not marriage. That is, public agreement about who is and who is not married. But it starts with marriage itself, a social institution, that is recognized rather than owned and created by the government.<BR/><BR/>We are all part of that public side of marriage. We would be so even if the government became blind to marriage, in the law and in social policy. That would undermine the ability of the social institution to benefit society, sure, and that's the harm of these confusions on exhibit in the state of France.Chairmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10485251953071927097noreply@blogger.com