Tag: Marriage

The In-between Days

 

Our son got married last weekend. At the rehearsal dinner, I shared what I believe are fundamental truths about marriage and the uniting of two people as one.

I clicked the red “Leave” button on a Zoom call; I pushed down so hard on my mouse, I was surprised it didn’t crack. I was furious at the conversation that had just taken place. The source of my frustration was a loyal teammate who had been by my side for seven years.

Within political discussions on the Right, social conservatism is on the rise. Why did the Right have a libertarian phase, and why is it leaving it behind? What does social conservatism look like in the world of practical public policy, and what is its future? How do religious citizens fit within the conservative movement?

Ryan Anderson ’04, is the director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a thinktank at the forefront of just such questions. After graduating from Princeton, Dr. Anderson pursued his PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the co-author of five books, most recently Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing (Regnery, 2022). His research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases. In addition to leading the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Anderson serves as the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, and the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute.

The pill has rocked our society to its core: but have we fully examined all its repercussions? Influential author and essayist Mary Eberstadt thinks we’ve only scratched the surface; in her most recent book, Adam and Eve after the Pill, Revisited (Ignatius Press, 2023) she argues that the papal encyclical Humane Vitae predicted our deep loneliness and other modern woes.

Mary Eberstadt holds the Panula Chair in Christian Culture at the Catholic information center in Washington, D.C., and is a Senior Research Fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute.

‘Not Again’

 

I suspect I’m not the only wife who’s used those words when her husband has announced it’s time to relocate—again. No matter whether you support the new job or promotion, moving is almost always traumatic and demanding.

In our case, my husband told me early in our marriage that he worked in an industry (management consulting to nuclear plants) where he would be traveling a great deal and he would be asked periodically to relocate. Initially it sounded like an adventure, and since we didn’t have kids, I was excited by the prospect.

Our married life began in California and he had the opportunity for a job on the east coast, specifically Massachusetts. Since we had family there, I was enthusiastic. We found a nice house in Framingham. Jerry picked up a bus to Stone & Webster Engineering in Boston in Shopper’s World and I commuted by car to Chestnut Hill for my job at a Savings Bank. I enjoyed the changes of season (less so, the ice storms) and the chance to explore historic sites. We were there for 18 months. I had barely started my writing consulting business, so when we had the chance to transfer to Denver, I was ready.

Quote of the Day: Marriage

 

Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn’t they’d be married too. – H. L. Mencken

I have been invited to a wedding today. I don’t know the couple very well. They are a young couple that started attending my church a year or two ago.  I approve of marriage on principle and they are a nice pair of folks, so I will be attending the ceremony. I want to encourage the institution. It is necessary for the preservation of civilization, and I would rather live in a civilized world.

More year-end awards today!  Jim and Greg embark on the second half of their six-episode saga known as the 2022 Three Martini Lunch Awards. Today, they offer up their selections for the best political idea, worst political idea, and boldest political tactics for the year. Their selections range from the campaign trail to the halls of Congress to the biggest land war in Europe in more than 75 years.

Betrayed Again

 

Just when I started to believe that the Republicans in Congress might actually be ready to act boldly, they have betrayed us again. It’s difficult for me to determine whether I am angrier with the Democrats for proposing this deceitful bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, or with the Republicans for lining up behind them. This Act further damages and weakens our religious liberties, in particular our support of traditional marriage, and it reminds us that the Progressive Left will never stop infringing on our rights and freedoms.

So what’s the big deal? A dozen Republicans have decided that they want to cozy up to the Democrats, or are too lazy or foolish to study the real intentions of the bill, or simply don’t care:

Quote of the Day: Love, Fidelity, and Perseverance

 

“Strong marriages—marriages in which a man and a woman stay together for their entire lives—are good for society as well as for the couple themselves. They serve as examples to the community of the virtues of love, fidelity, and perseverance. They demonstrate the capacity of the human being to live up to his or her promises.” — Made for a Reason Retreat Day Six—Marriage: Made for the Common Good

I see Susan Quinn has beat me to the topic of marriage today, and that we share a wedding anniversary. My husband and I have been married 32 years today, slightly more than half my life. I’ll go ahead and publish this post and make this wedding reflection day on Ricochet.

Overturning Roe and Obergefell Leads to … Cousin Marriage?

 

In a comment elsewhere, I was pondering the meaning of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  While liberals are having a tizzy about Justice Clarence Thomas’ comments about gay marriage and contraception, I think they might be looking at it the wrong way.

Obergefell requires all states and territories to recognize same-sex marriages from any and all states, to uphold them, and to provide for them as a function of due process and equal protection.  Same-sex marriage cannot be banned.

Marriage Is Not Meant to Be Fun

 

You can’t imagine my exasperation a couple of days ago when I read about the marital bliss of many couples that comes from their living apart.

Seriously? Is that supposed to be an honest-to-goodness marriage?

Let me clarify that the people I’m describing in this post are not apart temporarily due to job changes or other life disruptions; these are people who think their lives are dramatically better because they aren’t living with their spouses.

On this episode of “The Federalist Radio Hour,” author and relationship coach Suzanne Venker joins Federalist Executive Editor Joy Pullmann to discuss her new book “How to Get Hitched (and Stay Hitched): A 12-Step Program for Marriage-Minded Women” and how to navigate marriage in a world with historic levels of singleness.

Marriage and Roles

 

When I played football, I wanted to be a running back. I wanted to be the bull that charges over and through opposition, pitting my strength against theirs.

Instead, the coach assigned me to tight end. My role was the less glorious — but no less important — job of blocking. At least in hindsight, I trust that the coach’s choice for me was the right one. But the dream of playing running back stayed with me.

A Marriage Declaration

 

I got married a few weeks ago and I thought I’d share the declaration that my wife and I gave in front of family and friends. We took inspiration from numerous sources, and I’m not ashamed to admit the closing line was lifted from one of the most important documents in human history.

We collaborated on this declaration and we hope this inspires you if you’re writing vows of your own or if you know anyone who’s getting married.

Together, we declare:

Seeing Time Differently

 

I realized early on that my beloved and I approach time very differently. Case in point: our recent trip. We were going to head out on a real vacation for the first time in over a year. Besides driving to our first stop, we had a couple of errands to run on our way out of town, and the wife announced that we’d be ok if we left at ten minutes to nine on that Friday.

OK, good – I have my mission. Ten minutes to nine. I am 100% committed to that departure time. For the preceding 24 hours, everything I do will be geared toward making sure that at ten minutes to nine we are in the car and headed down the driveway. When we do that, some small part of the universe will be in perfect order.

Member Post

 

As someone whose marriage has gone over the edge, metaphorically speaking, and crawled its way back up, I believe I have some helps to offer for those in a similar struggle. By “over the edge,” I mean that we were separated for a year and a half as we painstakingly worked our way upward and […]

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Member Post

 

Christians and Jews should not think in the same manner as agnostics. There will always be much to explore and to discover. But some answers have been given to us. Sacred scripture and apostolic tradition bear witness to received truths, general or particular, from which research and reason can proceed in confidence.  Hadley Arkes explains […]

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This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.