It seems to me that the only reasons being given for getting married that can't also be achieved without marriage are religious or legal reasons. I have been married for a little over 10 years, and have never regretted the decision. Knowing what I know now, however, I don't think that I would get married again. I fully plan on staying with my wife for the rest of my life. I don't need a government issued piece of paper in order to do that though. While marriage is considered the ultimate sign of love and commitment in our society, there is no reason that some other gesture can't hold just as much meaning in a relationship. With the current divorce rate and the bans on homosexual marriage I think that any true meaning that the idea of marriage once had is gone.
I am not against people getting married, if that is what they want. Personally, however, I have come to the conclusion that marriage has little real value in our society. I think that couples can have the same commitment to one another without marriage as they can have with it. That is, of course, unless you want/need the approval of the government or church, in which case marriage is your only option.
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