As I write, the Royal Wedding is going on and from my point of view my only curiousity is "Who is going to be wearing menopause blue?" This is the colour of the blue dress that is worn by the mother of either the bride or the groom. Usually only one of the two wears it, and of course we all know that Diana is currently dressed in wooden overcoat brown with earthy tones. Accordingly, Kate Middleton's mum arrived dressed in what the fashionistas called sky blue, but what the cynics like me call menopause blue.
Historically I have never been a fan of the Royal family. My republican leanings have been inspired by my long held desire to one day overthrow the government, something that would be much easier to achieve legally without the protections that the monarchy provides. As such, my television is on in the background with the live telecast screening exclusively for my wife who is doing a great job of providing her own commentary soundtrack.
As for William and Kate, they both appear to be thoroughly decent people and I wish them very well for their future together. Unlike most married couples, they will have exceptional pressures upon them from an adoring public, a protocol driven palace, and an intrusive media. The fact that these pressures occur on top of the usual ones that occur in marriage puts them on the back foot. The fairytale weddings of Charles and Diana in 1981 and Andrew and Sarah in 1986 both became nightmares amid these issues and I can only hope that William and Kate have learned the lessons from both of those disasters enough to be able to rise above the pressures and triumph in their own marriage.
If that wasn't enough, an occasion such as a royal wedding becomes a very large advertisement for traditional marriage. With so many people openly attacking the institution of marriage as outdated and unnecessary, and even advocating alternative definitions of marriage, every failure of a marriage, particularly a high profile marriage, lowers the bar and becomes fodder for those pushing that agenda. Consequently, William and Kate carry the expectations of the holders of traditional values who are relying on them to counter those so-called progressive views.
It is my prayer that both William and Kate focus on establishing their marriage before taking on too much duty. They need to remember that a three-cord rope is not easily broken and that there is more to the pomp and ceremony overseen by the Archbishop of Canterbury. One day, William is likely to be the head of the Church of England, so having a personal relationship with the God of that church will benefit his marriage if he allows the source of all wisdom to play His part in growing and strengthening their union.
Do you really think "every failure of a marriage, particularly a high profile marriage, lowers the bar and becomes fodder for those pushing that agenda"? Isn't that a bit like saying about those who advocate euthanasia "Every premature death, particularly a high profile death, lowers the bar and becomes fodder for those pushing that agenda"?
ReplyDeleteI am sure that the majority of those that die young would rather have lived a full life, and the majority of those that have borne a failed marriage would rather have fulfilled "til death do us part". The reality is that marriage is a blessed state and the breakdown of a marriage is as traumatic as the death of a partner. If people are shallow enough to try and capitalise on peoples distress to advocate a liberal lifestyle they probably haven't got the ability to present a rational alternative and would justify there position without any anecdotal offerings.
Thanks for your comment Matt. I'm not sure that you can really compare marriage and euthanasia. The two are very differing issues with very different underlying contexts.
ReplyDeleteCertainly, the failure of high profile marriages attracts derision from those who advance other views. I got defriended from a facebook friend recently who posted a viral status that advocated alternative marriage definitions based on the multiple failings of a number of celebrities in traditional marriage. The insinuation was that if heterosexuals cannot get marriage right, then homosexuals couldn't do any worse, so give them the right to marry. My defence of traditional marriage got me labelled a scaremonger and a bigot despite this person stating quite clearly that no matter what argument I presented, nothing would change his mind. The blogosphere is rife with those use the failings of the very visible extreme minority to advocate a liberal lifestyle, with even some mainstream writers jumping on the bandwagon.
At times there have been high profile deaths that the euthanasia debate has arisen on. The long lingering death of Pope John Paul II became a big stick that certain pro life groups used against euthanasia advocates. I can recall one going the other direction but for the life of me I can't remember who it was... Wendy Richard perhaps?