Marriage: Rest in Peace?

Photo by shell_shelly_18

When I first chose today's In Print article, I knew the approach I planned to take. It was an easy decision, really. In the past half-hour, though, I've changed my mind entirely. I guess you could say I'm suffering from a bad case of reflection.

Less than a month after "the biggest wedding of the century," actress Cameron Diaz went on record to say that marriage is a dying institution:

"I don't think we should live our lives in relationships based off old traditions that don't suit our world any longer."

As someone who is pro-home, pro-marriage, and pro-family, I was prepared to write today's post with an arsenal of heavy-handed responses. Cameron's comments have been discussed, affirmed, and repeated by several news outlets.

And truly, part of me wonders why this 38-year-old (who's never been married) has any credibility to comment on the institution of marriage. (Okay. So the really skeptical part of me asks--Does anyone in Hollywood have the right?)

But that would be missing the point, wouldn't it?

Perhaps, instead of listening to the nagging voice in my head that wants desperately to believe marriage isn't dying because I believe in marriage, I ought to consider that marriage may not be alive and well simply because Cameron believes it's not. (Follow?)

In other words, part of me knows that Cameron is partially right. Though I couldn't disagree more about her conclusion (that we should live our lives marriage-free), I do believe that the institution of marriage is in trouble.


Simply put, ours is a world that doesn't foster selfless relationships.

Hmmm. More posts to follow, I have a feeling . . .