My wife and I had our expectations worked out before the wedding. Every marriage should have that or you're starting out in the hole. That's why there is counseling available for couples looking to get married.

Also, if someone doesn't want to get married. Fine. If they want to. That's fine too.

Finally, the article posted seems to indicate that marriage is necessarily supposed to entail responsible parenting. I also had to dig through the liberal/democrat/conservative garbage at the beginning.


So first, this liberal/conservative garbage needs to get thrown out. It has NOTHING to do with subject and is only a strawman argument.

Second, responsible parenting should occur REGARDLESS of marital status. Those do not go hand in hand.

Third, people should know their expectations before getting married and continue negotiations throughout their relationship. Not just "in five years" or whatever the contract says. Relationships don't work with only a job review every year, they function through hard work by both individuals every day.

Marriage, to me, is nothing more than a formal (and currently legal) public affirmation of the commitment two people have for each other. The relationship is what defines the marriage, the marriage doesn't define the relationship.