Friday, February 06, 2004
Sign in restaurant window: "Compliment your meal with one of our beverages."
Zonked slacker promo voice on dj-less Clear Channel-owned alternative gold station: "Indie 103.1 -- Your independent radio station."*
Equivocation in national debate between 'marriage' as religious institution and legal/civil one. That is: Given its traditions and dogmas, Church X can, I assume, (1) marry or not marry whoever it chooses; (2) withhold recognition of marriages performed outside of it. (As far as Rome is concerned, Protestants aren't married, right?) But since no such trads + dogs (nor the 'sum' of all such -- athiests can marry) can underwrite the civil institution in an allegedly non-theocratic State, said State cannot do so.** Fact that one consistent solution will satisfy no one -- eliminate term 'marriage' from the law entirely, make 'civil union' the only meaningful legal entity -- demonstrates depth of national confusion.
*Only non-major-distro-chain releases I've heard there: Elefant's "Misfit" (which sounded better than it did on their CD, I admit), Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" (which I love; also in rotation on KROQ), and unid. Death Cab song (which I don't love). Last 2 w/in 1/2 hr. of one another -- I don't begrudge Benjamin Gibbard his broadcast royalties, but come on.
**To my understanding, marriages underwritten by a given Church must also satisfy all standing legal requirements. Or does the State confer on selected religious institutions the right to confer, in turn, legal marital status? Even if so, this is not necessary -- Justices of the Peace are not ordained by any religion.
Zonked slacker promo voice on dj-less Clear Channel-owned alternative gold station: "Indie 103.1 -- Your independent radio station."*
Equivocation in national debate between 'marriage' as religious institution and legal/civil one. That is: Given its traditions and dogmas, Church X can, I assume, (1) marry or not marry whoever it chooses; (2) withhold recognition of marriages performed outside of it. (As far as Rome is concerned, Protestants aren't married, right?) But since no such trads + dogs (nor the 'sum' of all such -- athiests can marry) can underwrite the civil institution in an allegedly non-theocratic State, said State cannot do so.** Fact that one consistent solution will satisfy no one -- eliminate term 'marriage' from the law entirely, make 'civil union' the only meaningful legal entity -- demonstrates depth of national confusion.
*Only non-major-distro-chain releases I've heard there: Elefant's "Misfit" (which sounded better than it did on their CD, I admit), Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" (which I love; also in rotation on KROQ), and unid. Death Cab song (which I don't love). Last 2 w/in 1/2 hr. of one another -- I don't begrudge Benjamin Gibbard his broadcast royalties, but come on.
**To my understanding, marriages underwritten by a given Church must also satisfy all standing legal requirements. Or does the State confer on selected religious institutions the right to confer, in turn, legal marital status? Even if so, this is not necessary -- Justices of the Peace are not ordained by any religion.
